The Viral Tee That Turned Into a $6M Movement

TogethXr stands out as a prime example of women-led brands in the sports industry. Established in 2021 by Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Chloe Kim, and Simone Manuel, the media and commerce startup sought to bridge the gap that existed in women’s sports. They wanted to turn the jab ‘No one watches women’s sports’ on its head. 

Came the slogan ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’. Four years later, that slogan is more than a rallying cry—it’s a commercial and cultural tour de force that brands can hardly ignore.

Turning a Catchphrase Into a Movement

In recent years, the demand for women’s sports has skyrocketed. From WNBA to LPGA, female athletes are drawing more people than ever. It’s a noticeable trend in EssentiallySports coverages between 2023 and 2024, as the data below clearly shows. 

Yet, a Wasserman study found that women’s sports receive only 16% of sports media coverage. TogethXr, by creating content that highlights female athletes' stories, confronted the narrative that there is no demand for women’s sports. Their platform became a convergence of culture, activism, lifestyle, and, of course, sports.​ 

It has offered them a jaw-dropping ROI as well.  

In January 2024, the South Carolina Women’s Basketball coach, Dawn Staley, offered the startup another unexpected sales boost. Staley’s ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ t-shirt went viral, and the TogethXr’s inventory was emptied in less than two hours. 

Staley once again donned the signature sweatshirt during the high-octane matchup against LSU. Again, TogethXr was struggling to fill the inventory as orders flooded in.

On the other hand, Alex Morgan’s Instagram post of working out in a TogethXr T-shirt – seen by her 10.1 million Instagram followers – presented the startup with another sales opportunity. They didn’t waste any time.

📈 TogethXr utilized the Pre Order Now Shopify app to drive sales. 

🕛 Within 20 minutes, 79 orders were placed. 

💯 In less than five hours, that number jumped to 1000.

But the real deal came about six months later. If you were near the Olympics Village as some of us were, you would’ve spotted the $45 Everyone Watches Women’s Sports tees… well, almost everywhere. 

The financial impact showed by the end of 2024:

🔝 TogethXr raked in an eye-watering $6M in revenue, selling 20,000 units of products during three days at the end of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

📣 The start-up recorded a 17% YTD increase in global reach and a 42.7% surge in comments on social media channels. 

🔥 TogethXr had 2.25 million TikTok followers by the end of 2024, the highest among women’s sports media outlets. 

It caught the attention of bigger players in the industry. Nike soon came knocking on TogethXr’s doors. 

From Viral to Verified: Nike Collab

On March 28, Nike announced its latest partnership with TogethXr. The apparel giant will launch an ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ apparel line, reinforcing a shared commitment toward female athletes. 

Nike first collaborated with the startup last December. The Beaverton-HQ brand unveiled a special edition of the GT3 Hustle on the eve of the UCONN vs USC face-off. The now-famous punchline ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ appeared on the heel of the kicks. 

However, it would be wrong to say Nike was just lured by the financial prospect. There is a much bigger impact that TogethXr has made that no brand can ignore. It’s now driving a cultural phenomenon that has stormed the citadels of sports and entertainment alike.

Leaving an Impact: Cultural Influence

“This is a brand that endeavours to move culture forward, to elevate and centre women’s voices where they traditionally have not been elevated or centred,” co-founder and Chief Content Officer Jessica Robertson told SportsPro in 2021. Four years later, her brand is at the forefront of a cultural shift.

Who has so far sported the TogethXr merchandise? The list includes Hollywood A-listers and World No.1 athletes: 

• Jason Sudeikis, Aubrey Plaza, and Chelsea Handler sported TogethXr merch.

• Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show host, got it as a gift from Sue Bird.

• Last year, it spawned a new trend in golf: Everyone Watches Nelly Korda (the current world no.1 golfer).

TogethXr epitomizes how female-centric brands are transforming the sports business landscape. To their credit, the startup treated women’s sports as an undervalued asset. And they were right. 

The success of similar new-age brands like TapandGo, Feisty Media, and Momentus shows that we have yet to realize and, indeed, unlock the full potential of women’s sports. In the next section, we bring insights from the founders of these three startups challenging the status quo and shaping the next chapter in women’s sports.

But before that, tell us this…

On the fifth episode of EssentiallySports Think Tank Season 2, we chatted with Naomi Clarkson, SVP of Marketing at Momentus, Sara Gross, Founder & CEO of Feisty Media, and Angella Goran, Founder of TapandGo Technologies. They all have deep interest, involvement, and investment in the business of women's sports.

Interestingly, all three raise caution that tie up with female athletes too needs to be a well thought out move that aligns with the brand’s goals. Be it Simone Biles or Caitlin Clark, brands should not trade authenticity for big names. As the data below shows, authenticity is the most crucial asset of a company.

So, brands should think of long-term goals instead of short-term success while collaborating with athletes and even with other brands. Naomi Clarkson emphasized, “I will not truly work with anyone who doesn’t truly believe in what we are doing.” Sara Gross agreed. “We have said no to some pretty big deals before because it’s… the product is not good.”

It’s a fundamental marketing lesson:

📉 If your audience doesn’t love the product, your sponsor will never get the desired ROI.

❌ If the athlete never uses your product, they won’t truly integrate with your brand.

🚫 Consequently, you put your brand in a precarious position where the audience starts to lose trust.

Whereas staying true to your brand’s stated goals will unlock immense potential. Gross made another important point – don’t latch onto a trend just because it’s well, trending. TikTok is immensely popular, but your athlete might not be comfortable on the video-sharing platform. “Authenticity is about knowing your own brand and audience, rather than following every new content trend.”

Goran chimed in, “When we launched Power Hour, it wasn’t just about setting a record. It was about creating something that genuinely mattered to the community and empowering people to get involved.”

• Power Hour will be a first-of-its-kind, largest synchronized, web-connected hour of movement to be hosted at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this Memorial Day weekend.

• Nikki Fargas, President of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. Jennifer Azzi, Olympic gold medalist and Chief Business Development Officer of the Aces, will take part.

• Dr. Jen Welter, the first female coach in NFL history, will also join.

By strategically partnering with athletes and building a community that facilitates empowerment, brands can not only elevate women's sports but also create a landmark moment of cultural significance. Instead of force-feeding a narrative, brands should leverage the power of genuine storytelling.

Gross explained, “I have been really surprised right from the beginning… at how good some of the female athletes are at creating content, creating a brand or creating influence or even having a community.”

Community building is crucial to earn the faith of Gen Z, who spend $200 billion annually. Fostering community enables three things: generating emotional resonance, finding rapid growth, and getting high ROI. Brands can achieve this in three ways:

✅ Find which communities your audience actively engages with.

✅ Pick a buzz-worthy product that embodies what your brand represents (think of Everyone Watches Women’s Game merch).

✅ Allow brand advocates – athletes and influencers alike – to present the community with talkable and credible stories.

So, authentic storytelling and community building are key to driving consumer engagement and, in turn, conversions. Companies need to invest significant capital to kick-start this.

Unfortunately, as Clarkson noted, brands allocate less than 10% of their people’s marketing budgets in women-specific sponsorship. But the jaw-dropping success of TogethXr, Feisty Media, Momentus, and TapandGo Technology reveal that it's high time brands rethink their strategy.