As the sports content category undergoes significant changes, the winners and losers will be determined by where fans choose to direct their attention. Marketers that follow these trends closely will have great opportunities to ensure their brands stay top of mind with the most engaged sports fans.

Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were retired from baseball in 1983 when they were banned by then-MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for working as greeters and autograph signers for Atlantic City establishments. But times have changed.

The idea of a car brand sponsoring sailing activities seems counterintuitive. And in the case of BMW, the yacht sponsorship activities seem especially odd in the context of BMW's dropping of its Formula One sponsorship activities. Formula One was an arguably closer fit with the brand, but it was also a much higher ticket item for BMW, estimated at above $300 million annually.

Savvy sports marketers need to not only measure brand affinity within an expanded non-vertical competitive set, but they should put in place loyalty measures, as well.

The summer is one of the busiest seasons of the sports year. Right now, for example, you have the culmination of the NBA and NHL Playoffs, MLB season is in full swing, and that doesn't even include high-profile events in motorsports, tennis, golf, etc. Lost in the shuffle, however, is the fact that summer is the prime season for the action sports industry.