New research has revealed Adidas was the world's highest spending company in 2008, with a total spend of US$390.8 million across the major sports. Whilst that might be a predictable result, given the company's ubiquity in the industry, it is more surprising that the final figure dwarfs that of its close rival Nike.

The figures, revealed by a year of research from SportsPro analysts, show that the German company spends over US$160 million more than its American competitor on sport property sponsorship. Nike spends US$235 million on direct sponsorship, although it eclipses all other companies in terms of personal endorsements.

Following a year of intense and far-reaching investigation, taking into account the world’s major sports properties, leagues and competitions, SportsPro researchers have analysed the value of top-level global sports sponsorship in 2008. The US$12.534 billion result is the first true barometer of the current health of the industry.

The figures show that automotive industry was, by some distance, the biggest sports spender last year, investing almost US$500 million more than any other sector.

The full report is available in the April edition of SportsPro magazine. For a free trial copy of SportsPro, click here.