As the sports industry recognizes Disability Pride Month in July — marking the 36th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act — it has an opportunity to move beyond awareness campaigns and ask a far more important question: Is the industry truly prepared to engage one of the largest and most overlooked markets in sports?

This question could not be more timely.

Consider women’s sports: Franchise valuations are surging. Expansion teams are emerging across North America. Media companies are racing to secure rights. Sponsors that once failed to see the value are now scrambling to invest.

And yet, while sports executives finally recognize this undervalued market, many are actively missing another one hiding in plain sight: Disability.

The same industry that once questioned whether women’s sports could drive ratings, sponsorship revenue, merchandise sales and cultural relevance is again overlooking a similar underrepresented market.

Adapted and Para sport events generated approximately $164 million in economic impact nationwide in 2024 alone. Per Sports Innovation Lab, part of Genius Sports, disabled consumers are making more sport-related purchases than the general population — and spending significantly more per transaction.

Those numbers should fundamentally alter how leagues, teams, brands, venues, and media companies think about growth. According to data from the American Institutes of Research (AIR):

Working-age Americans with disabilities represent approximately $490 billion in........

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