Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Sports Media & Marketing Blog 8, Question 1 (April 5)
Why is branding so important in sports? How is
it similar to, and different from, celebrity branding?What are some of the ways that successful athletes
and franchises leverage their brands in the marketplace?Limit:
15 responses
Branding is very important in sports. As mentioned in the previous blog post, branding is important for public figures, whether they be celebrities or athletes. And who’s to say they can’t be both? Anyone in the public eye comes under scrutiny, so this is where branding comes in. Branding can play a crucial role for both teams or individual players, elevating their status, advocating for issues, or growing their popularity. Social media also has a big part in this, helping give athletes their own platform.
Branding in sports shows what athletes stand for within the industry. It gives fans something to identify with, makes them more recognizable among competitors, and makes it easier to secure sponsorships (Colman). Social media brings all of this together and puts it on a platform for everyone to see. Women’s sports, for example, “have seen a significant spike in audience growth, with the most important factor being the level of passion that fans have for their favourite players and teams…seen in the high level of social media engagement female athletes receive” (Gregory). Female athletes have been growing in popularity recently, and a lot of that comes down to the way they brand themselves and how social media enforces that.
Athletes can also use social media as a way to show who they are as a human being, not just an athlete. Those who “show their authentic personalities and speak out about their passions away from the field of play are often more marketable than athletes who stick to posting on social media about their sport” (Gregory). Similar to celebrity branding, posting about something other than a certain project or game, rather real issues and authenticity, is very good for their brand, and makes them easier to market. Which is good because female athletes are seeing more money coming from endorsements than solely competing (Gentrup). I think this is also where we see a difference in sports branding from celebrity branding. Endorsements and sponsorships are very important in sports, allowing athletes to create a sustainable income outside of games. This is how teams can get promotions and investments. Celebrities, on the other hand, don’t necessarily need endorsements for their brand. Getting brand deals doesn’t guarantee getting hired for different projects. Yes, sponsors are great, but they don’t make or break celebrities like they can with athletes.
Other than speaking out about topics different from sports, athletes can also leverage their brands in the marketplace by speaking about the difficult topics within their sport. One big example is mental health. Recently, a lot of athletes have come forward about their struggles with mental health. Just look at Simone Biles. Showing that “it is OK to prioritise your mental health and take a break, even in the moments when the world is expecting you to be at your best” (Gregory) has been really beneficial for athletes and their brands. There is clearly a lot that athletes can use to promote their brands as well as the positive effects branding in sports can have as a whole.
Works Cited Colman, Z. “Why Is Branding so Important in Sports?” Creatitive, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/. Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/. Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Branding is an important factor of sports marketing for athletes, teams, and brands. Branding is the main source of income for many celebrity athletes. During 2021, the top 10 highest paid athletes made more money than any athlete, with Conor McGregor making $180 million throughout the year. $158 million of this, however, was from endorsements alone (Knight). Brand endorsements, a marketing and promotional strategy used to help athletes reach a wider audience and create brand awareness, are what bring in the most amount of money for athletes. Whether you are the winner of an Olympic Gold Medal or a National Championship title, brands want to utilize these well-known athletes to help them bring their brand to more people. And what is so great about athletes is they’re brand is all about health and success, so it is a great way to show the same about a company’s products.
It is also important regarding college athletes because college athletes are unable to be paid by schools, as they would then be seen as “employees” of the university, and not just students. However, legislations have begun allowing students to be endorsed by brands to use their name, image, and likeness. And many companies are eager to sign with these athletes because of the following many of them have, as well as the loyalty people have to specific schools. Some deals have even reached up to $1million for student athletes, something they would have never had before (Nocera).
Athlete branding is similar to celebrity branding in that these athletes become celebrities by their fans. As discussed in class, being a celebrity means to be known for being known. Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Serena Williams are known by practically everyone, even if you don’t like sports. In addition, many celebrities begin utilizing their social medias to get brand deals to continue making money outside of whatever sport they play. In a similar vein to Dwayne Johnson’s tequila company, Conor McGregor has a whiskey brand. These celebrity athletes, too, are pushing their efforts outside of sports to make even more money. For college athletes becoming celebrities, they are using branding to simply make any money at all. Some are even branching off to create clothing brands or trademarking their signature name (Nocera). It is different from other celebrity branding, however, because, as stated prior, their brand is more based around health and athleticism, and so the brands that they endorse must keep in line with that, while other celebrities have a larger range of products they can endorse.
Athletes have many ways they can utilize their brands to grow and become more successful. When looking less at follower counts and more at what makes athletes marketable, it was found that there are multiple factors to look out for, and Simone Biles is the top marketable athlete to hit all the categories (Gregory). The categories include the passion of fans, having purpose, and authenticity. Female athletes tend to have higher social media engagement compared to follower counts, even more so than male athletes with far larger followings. Athletes with purpose thrive more, and despite only two people talking about mental health in the top 50 athletes, the two who spoke on it were the top two in the list: Biles and Naomi Osaka. Being authentic and opening up to the fans also creates a connection that brands and audiences care about (Gregory). The US Women’s National Team was also a great indicator of success, as they are a group consisted of many strong stars that fans can follow. They also use their platforms to open up about their personal lives and speak a lot about family and social injustices, especially their lack of fair pay in comparison to their male counterparts (Gregory).
For student athletes, the criteria is similar, needed outstanding athleticism, a good attitude, a clean background, and good engagement on socials. While still being a student, consistent and frequent social media sharing is important to maintain the engagement needed. Posts should include both the highs and lows of the athlete’s life, showing authenticity, good sportsmanship, and an ability to grow (Minardi). Growth is important in all athletes’ brands, as this tells the audience there is only going up from here, and that is something audiences would stick around for.
Works Cited Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/. Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/. Minardi, Paula. “Athlete Branding: Is There a Difference between pro and College Athletes on Social Media?” Greenfly, 9 Jan. 2022, https://www.greenfly.com/blog/thought-leadership/athlete-branding-pro-college-athletes-social-media/. Nocera, Joe. “The Difference between an Unpaid and a Paid Student-Athlete? Not Much.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/23/business/college-endorsement-deals.html.
Talya Castonguay Personal branding is something that should be important to everyone. However, it is extremely important for people who live in the spotlight under the public eye. Some of the people who have to be the most careful about their personal brands are athletes. With changing media usage practices, athletes are even further in the public eye than they ever have been. Years ago, it was, you watched them compete in their respective sport, do a press conference a few times, and every so often potentially read a magazine article about them. Now, thanks to social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, athletes are in the public eye all the time. But, why is this an issue for promoting personal/franchise brands?
Well, for starters, any public figure is under much more scrutiny. It has become harder for stories about athlete’s misendeavours to be swept under the rug by their school/professional organization. We are beginning to see more and more people be held accountable for their words and actions off the field, something people often never even heard about (Carson).
Because of this, athletes and franchises alike need to be hyper-aware of the things they’re saying and doing at all times. They’ve begun to capitalize on championships, and big moments within their careers. We see hashtags and slogans being incorporated into games and celebrations, “Champa Bay”, for example. Franchises and organizations especially have been capitalizing on streaming services recently. Leagues will strike broadcasting deals with streamers for their games to be aired on their platform, in the hopes of leagues being able to pull in more fans through people that might already be subscribed to that specific platform (Ozanian).
For other reasons, athletes often find themselves needing to promote their personal brands in order to acquire sponsorship deals from popular brands. This is especially prevalent within women’s sports because not only are women often just criticized in the media more in general, but female athletes make far less than their male counterparts. And they also have a smaller audience, considering there are no major professional female leagues that are as heavily promoted as leagues like the NFL, MLB, Premier League, etc. Because of this female athletes must individually promote themselves. This all means that they must keep themselves marketable at all times.
This idea makes sense, considering that the top 3 of the most marketable athletes are women. Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and Ashlyn Harris, respectively (Athletes). With Biles being a gymnast, Osaka a tennis player, and Harris a soccer player, their sports are often never in the forefront, save for every few years when the Olympics roll around. It’s imperative that they maintain positive brands for themselves, because if they were to lose that, they would lose much of their sponsorships and brand deals.
In a time with social media at the forefront of everything, athletes are no longer only watched when they are competing, but they are watched and monitored by fans, and, even people who don’t like them, waiting for them to say or do something that they can capitalize on. Self-promotion is a dangerous game, however many athletes have found success for themselves throughout the years.
Works Cited “Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/. Carson, Frank. “10 Reasons Sports Are America's No. 1 Priority.” Sportscasting, 8 Jan. 2015, https://www.sportscasting.com/10-reasons-sports-are-americas-no-1-priority-2/. Ozanian, Mike. “World's Most Valuable Sports Teams 2021.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/05/07/worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-2021/?sh=2f5d4bd23e9e.
Nicole Clemons Branding is very important when it comes to sports. As time progressed social media branding has become a big part of athletes’ lives. Athletes are constantly in the public eye and are being looked at and their brand can change how people view them while they are playing. Social media has been able to give athletes a platform to voice their opinions freely. Branding in sports gives athletes the platform to talk about what they believe in, build trust, and lead to more sponsorships. Athletes use their platforms to announce organizations and charities they support which brings awareness to the cause from their large following, “The right brand for sports professionals is a way to show what you stand for within the industry. It gives fans something concrete to identify with and makes it easier to be recognized amidst your competitors” (Colman). The more people that recognize their brand the more trust they receive. This can lead their followers to be more invested in something because their favorite athlete or one they look up to supports a certain cause. When an athlete has a good and notable brand they will receive more sponsorships, “sponsors rarely look for new or up-and-coming athletes without a firm sense of who they are. Simply put, they don’t have a strong enough sense of self as a brand to represent another company successfully. Why? Because sponsors count on athletes to promote their products or business” (Colman). Athletes use their social media platforms to get endorsements and sponsorships. Although all athletes do this it is something female athletes rely on. Sponsorships and endorsements are where female athletes generate a lot of their revenue. Unlike male athletes who generate a majority of it through competition. Even the highest-paid female athletes prize money in nowhere comparable to men’s’ “The top 10 accounted for a combined $167 million in pretax earnings according to Forbes, a 23% increase compared to 2020. Tennis star Naomi Osaka topped the list at $57.3 million, with just $2.3 million of that coming from prize money” (Gentrup). Even during the pandemic when everything was shut down the highest-paid athletes were not affected because of endorsements, “But with athletes making more than ever off the field, the drop is more nuisance than disaster” (Knight).
Nicole Clemons cont This is where I can see similarities and differences between celebrities and athletes. They both rely on brand deals and endorsements to bring in extra revenue. Especially if they are influencers brand deals make up a huge part of their revenue much like female athletes. With social media continuing to grow athletes will continue to be watched in and outside of their respective sport. People will not like them for voicing their opinions and partnering with brands. They will have to continue to promote themselves and social media gives them everything they need to do so to a large audience. Work Cited Colman. “Why Is Branding So Important in Sports?” Creative, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/. Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=1c75348c26f4
Branding is starting to be more important in sports media than ever before. According to an article by Creatitive, sports branding helps teams gain recognition in their community (zcolman). The teams that do the best with this strategy are the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Cowboys (Forbes' article). The Dallas Cowboys' logo is arguably the most recognizable sports logo in North American sports leagues. This is all due in large part to Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, a successful businessman who views the team as a business.
It is similar to celebrity styles of branding because they use their endorsements and products on their next show. This is similar to how sports teams brand their products in games by placing the company's logo on their uniforms during the games. Sports marketing during the pre-pandemic was all about coming up with crazy commercials to pique the fans' interest according to Forbes' article on sports branding (Dabbash). Since the pandemic hit, the marketing approach from advertisers has changed their ideas on how to market their products.
The only difference from celebrity branding and sports branding is majority of the celebrity products are more beauty-based. Meanwhile, most of the products that sports teams and athletes brand are athletic companies such as Nike and Adidas. The main audience that celebrities are trying to approach is usually their fans so that is why they brand in products that is based on their interests.
The big way some athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the marketplace is by how they broadcast it. For instance, the Dallas Cowboys have a sponsorship with the Salvation Army and every home game you see the Salvation Army red bag by one of the endzones to influence Cowboys fans to donate for the cause.
Meanwhile, for athletes they can be very marketable on their own when they turn pro. I am going to discuss as if the NIL Deal within college athletics does not exist and focus more on the pros. Some of the main pro athletes do not live off of just their winnings, they also make their money off of sponsorships. The other big scenario that comes into play when talking about which athletes do a better job with reaching out to its fanbase and that is why female athletes are more marketable than male athletes because they absorb more of the attention (Gregory).
To sum it all up, the sports industry does not pale in comparison with celebrity branding and culture. There are actually a few similarities between the two and it is somewhat difficult to determine if an athlete is considered an athlete or a celebrity. A perfect example of this is Tom Brady, he is arguably considered to be one of the best players in NFL history, but he also does a lot of advertisements for a certain product.
colman, Zack. “Why Is Branding so Important in Sports?” Creatitive, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/. Copeland, Kareem. “Who's Making the Most from Nil? Women's Basketball Is near the Top.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/03/30/womens-college-basketball-endorsements-nil/. Dabbah, Dave. “Council Post: Lessons Brands Can Learn from Sports Marketing (in the Pandemic and beyond).” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 July 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/07/07/lessons-brands-can-learn-from-sports-marketing-in-the-pandemic-and-beyond/?sh=1fde00e0c5c3. Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/. Gregory, By: Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/. Nocera, Joe. “The Difference between an Unpaid and a Paid Student-Athlete? Not Much.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/23/business/college-endorsement-deals.html?fbclid=IwAR27coQXo_Vh1USiZIbRFO5taQE0mVsNfOD3EaHxvHb2aXEwsfcnKlrNgno. Ozanian, Mike. “World's Most Valuable Sports Teams 2021.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/05/07/worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-2021/?sh=28dc13f33e9e. Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/. Weprin, Alex. “With $100B NFL Deal, TV Networks Keep One Foot in the Bundle and Another in Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nfl-tv-streaming-analysis-4153564/.
Branding is so important in sports because, just like a traditional celebrity, the goal is to have as large of a fanbase as possible. Having a large fan base is particularly important in sports because the goal is not only to build a fanbase for the individual, but for the team they play for as well. The most successful athletes are not only the ones who perform the best in their sport but also the ones who know how to market themselves. There are a lot of similarities between branding in sports and celebrity branding. When looking at SportsPro’s list of the “50 Most Marketable Athletes” in 2021 there are clear parallels between being a marketable athlete and being a marketable celebrity. For example, athletes who show their personalities and are authentic on social media are the most marketable. The athletes who post about their passions outside of just sports are most likely to be more marketable compared to the athletes who only post about their sport (Gregory, 2021). This pattern can also be seen in traditional celebrity branding. Celebrities who show their personalities through social media instead of just posting about their latest project are going to be the most profitable. One major difference between branding in sports and celebrity branding is that in sports branding there are a lot more live events that brands can use for promotion. When a major live sporting event is being broadcast around the country or even the world, brands have the opportunity to reach a large audience (Dabbah, 2021). This is why there are advertisements throughout the area. This could be as small as a sign on the side of the field or court to a team wearing a logo across their chests. There is nothing comparable to this in traditional celebrity branding.
In order for successful athletes and franchises to leverage their brands, not only do they have to market their achievements in sports, but their personal achievements as well. The most successful athletes in the marketing world are those who are viewed as personable and authentic. People care more about personality than they do about career success when it comes to branding as an athlete (Gregory, 2021). When looking at the list of the “Highest-Paid Female Athletes” for 2021, all of those athletes are not only known for their sport but for their personality and character. For example, Simone Biles is ranked number four on the list, but this was not her most successful year in gymnastics (Front Office Sports, 2022). People love Biles because she advocated for herself and for her mental health. People were able to see her personality this year and that is why she became so profitable. The athletes who make a name for themselves off the field are the ones who find the most success in marketing. Branding in sports is important in order for an athlete to be successful. In the age of social media, marketing has become a crucial part of being prosperous. Athletes can no longer just be successful in their sport to become a household name, they also need to learn how to market themselves.
Work Cited: Dabbah, D. (2021, July 7). Council post: Lessons brands can learn from sports marketing (in the pandemic and beyond). Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/07/07/lessons-brands-can-learn-from-sports-marketing-in-the-pandemic-and-beyond/?sh=1bbee4f1c5c3 Front Office Sports. (2022, January 14). Highest-paid female athletes earned $167M in 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/ Gregory, B. F. (2021, August 23). Analysing the 2021 sportspro 50 most marketable athletes list. SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/
Branding is very important in sports because athleticism can only make the athlete so much money. Having a valuable name and image in sports brings in more opportunities for athlete revenue. A great example of branding in sports is MMA fighter Conor McGregor. McGregor is the highest paid athlete of 2021 with earning $180 million dollars. He received 22 million dollars for his fight in the UCF that year. This fraction of his earnings comes from the sport he is known to play and if it weren’t for his likeness, name, and other investments of revenue he would be a low earning MMA fighter. He is making his money in other ways such as endorsements, investments, and businesses. Even because of McGregor’s name and image he is “one of those very few MMA fighters who gets paid for appearing for the event and not for his performance” (Sports News). This payment style is more common in other sports where athletes are paid a salary each year no matter how well they perform on the field.
Branding for athletes is very similar to celebrity branding. When we discussed what makes someone a celebrity and a star in class, being well known for being known applies to the sports world too. This has become so important to athletes especially women athletes because of the pay and recognition discrepancy in media. A lot of athletes play the sport because of their passion and that creates an identity to brand. Women athletes are not making nearly as much as their male counterparts which makes earning money as a women athlete is extremely difficult. Women athletes create a brand and image that people enjoy so businesses want to endorse and make deals with them to reach the demographic that the athletes have curated due to their likeness and image. An athlete like Serena Williams makes an estimated amount of $45.9 million and about 900,000 is on field earnings.
The best way some athletes leverage their brand in the marketplace is creating an identity and personality like any other celebrity selling themselves or a product. This can be done through different ways like their own social media or endorsements. If a famous person wants to build a business, they also must have the likeness for it to sell. The idea is to be marketable, and athletes do a great job at this to set themselves up for making a profit outside of their field experience. An athlete provides an authentic take to celebrities because it is their natural talent that makes them popular. This transcends into their products and brands when they establish their name and image enough to make their businesses money.
Just like actors, musicians, and influencers, branding is also important with athletes in sports. Sports fans tend to look up to these athletes and view them as their role model, so it’s very important for athletes to also create a good brand for themselves in order to continue their reputation of being an idol. As a public figure, athletes are constantly in the spotlight, so branding is crucial for them to grow their popularity through many different techniques. A big factor of growing their brand is through social media. When it comes to celebrity branding verses branding in sports, there are many similarities. Sports branding used effectively results in increasing in customer loyalty, improving the public perception of your business, attracting new customers and developing strong brand identity (“Sports-”). Similarly, celebrity branding also intends to attract more customers towards their product through popularity. A huge way to be successful with both sports branding and celebrity branding is the use of social media. “Professional athletes have created a wide range of companies that offer products and services to their fanbase, leveraging social media to boost initial exposure to potential customers” (“The-”). The highest paid athlete as of last year is Conor McGregor with a total of $180 million in 12 months (Knight). The majority of the money he earned was from his endorsement deal with the whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve where he made $158 million (Knight). Clearly brand endorsements reel in most of athletes’ money, as McGregor only earned $22 million out of the $180 million from fighting. Another example is tennis player Roger Federer who only made his money of $90 million from a brand deal with Rolex, Credit Suisse, Uniqlo and Swiss athletic apparel company On (Knight). During COVID-19 is when sports branding was especially popular for athletes. Authenticity is really important for successful athletes and for franchises to leverage their brands in the marketplace this day and age. Brands that are looking for sports fans need to recognize that the most marketable athletes are the ones that show their personalities and are open and honest (Gregory). Fans love seeing a celebrity or public figure that they can relate to because it shows that they are human too. Overall, authenticity is definitely a huge factor in leveraging brands into the marketplace. Mental health is an important topic that only recently was considered “appropriate” to talk about openly. When Simone Biles came out about her mental health on social media, she attracted so many more fans and created a brand image for herself that increased her status. Being familiar with social media and using your voice are two of the most important ways to be successful in sports branding.
Works Cited “Sports Team Branding & Marketing: BrandStar Sports & Entertainment.” BrandStar Sports & Entertainment 2021, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.brandstarsports.com/blog/sports-team-branding-and-marketing-brandstarsports/. “The Benefits of Social Media for Professional Athlete: Brandstar Sports & Entertainment.” BrandStar Sports & Entertainment 2021, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.brandstarsports.com/blog/the-benefits-of-social-media-for-professional-athlete/. Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/. Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/.
Branding is extremely important in sports regarding players and teams. For teams, branding is huge because it develops the entire identity of the organization and sometimes even gains fans. I personally know people who support their favorite teams simply due to their branding such as their logo, colors, uniforms etc. Branding helps team create their identity, there’s a reason why sports franchises around the major sports leagues come out with new jerseys every season. This helps market the organizations brand and draws attention to people outside the sport the franchise is in as well. Sports team branding is a great opportunity to define and communicate a team's unique identity and core values (Schäferhoff). By positioning yourself in a certain way, you make it easier for players, fans, and club members to find commonalities and points for identification. As for the athletes, branding is huge for them, it gives them a personality away from the game and gives fans a unique look at what they are all about. Social helps with all this, it gives athletes and opportunity to have their own platform and further market their personal identity and brand. Going off that, female athletes have always been in the back of the line when it comes to being noticed, but social media as helped them brand themselves further. Women’s sports have seen a significant spike in audience growth, with the most important factor being the level of passion that fans have for their favorite players and teams. Seen in the high level of social media engagement female athletes receive (Gregory). Self-branding for female athletes is so important for them because even though they are very good at the sport they play, most of their income comes from branding and endorsements. The world’s highest-paid female athletes have made a name for themselves in their respective sports, but most of the women make more money from endorsements than they do competing (Gentrup).
Athletes using branding for money purposes is obvious, but as mentioned, it shows their human side and the type of person they are. Athletes with social media can show their values as a person and stand for what they believe in. They can go on social media and talk about real world issues and other things such as mental health, which is starting to become more accepted and understood than it ever has thanks to athletes. When someone who struggles with mental health sees that an athlete and even their favorite athlete come out and talk about mental health and problems, they themselves have experienced with it, that could go a long way. Branding for both athletes and teams are important in sports and have a huge impact among fans. Works Cited Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Schäferhoff, N. (2019, July 2). Sports team branding and how to do it right. ThemeBoy. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.themeboy.com/blog/sports-team-branding/
Sports teams rely on their branding to create a fan base and generate significant revenue. Sports branding is very important for professional athletes as it helps establish a consistent image and makes it easier to present it across various mediums. It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual athlete or a team. Whether you play for a team or represent a profession, having a strong brand is very important to increase your fan base and credibility. According to, Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $165M in 2021, Despite being the world's highest-paid female athletes, most of them earn less than they do from endorsements. “The world’s highest-paid female athletes have made a name for themselves in their respective sports, but most of the women make more money from endorsements than they do competing.” (Gentrup). Having the right logo and color scheme is also key to making yourself stand out from the crowd. There are differences and similarities between sports branding and celebrity branding. Product branding is the process of creating an identity for a product or service that consumers are likely to buy. Sport branding is the process of creating an identity for a sports team or organization that's geared toward gaining support and respect. Both product and sport branding are focused on creating unique and distinctive identities that stand out from their competitors. Both product and sport branding focus on having a consistent brand image. While product branding mainly involves designing and branding their products, sport branding focuses on the whole organization.
According to the article, Why athlete influencers are so effective, Professional athletes have been known to endorse various products and services for years. Some of the most prominent deals include those involving Jordan and Nike. “For years, professional athletes have been used to endorse a variety of brands, products, and services. Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike, recognized by many as the archetypal athlete endorsement deal” (MediaKix). While many celebrities still act as pop culture celebrities, top athletes are now becoming social media influencers due to the direct line of communication they have with their fans and followers. This growing network of followers can be attributed to their ongoing exposure to various media outlets. “When they perform well — winning championships, breaking records — or are otherwise covered in the press, these athlete influencers gain additional attention, resulting in more followers on social media.”. (MediaKix). Being a social media influencer is more than just a job for athletes. Many of them are also role models and trendsetters. Through their platforms, these athletes have also found new ways to connect with their fans and followers. “Exposing their authentic selves through social media, athlete influencers have found new ways to engage with people outside of the sporting arena.” (MediaKix).
In the Forbes article, The world’s 10 highest paid athletes, Brett Knight talks about how the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world earned a combined total of over $1 billion during the past year. This is a significant increase from last year's top earners. However, it's still a few million short of the record earnings of boxer Floyd Mayweather. “The ten highest-paid athletes in the world took home pretax gross earnings of $1.05 billion during the past 12 months, 28% more than last year’s top earners.” (Knight). This year, mixed martial arts fighter and entrepreneur Conor McGregor emerged as the biggest winner. He was able to build a successful business outside of the UFC due to his immense popularity. “This year, McGregor lands the winning punch, having leveraged his unmatched popularity in mixed martial arts to build a lucrative hustle outside UFC’s Octagon”. (Knight). Despite how much money professional athletes make; they are not as legendary as celebrities. There are a few similarities and differences between the two and the success of professional athletes is largely credited to their off-field success. Aside from being successful on the field, they also need to be wealthy in marketing themselves. In the age of social media, it is important that athletes learn how to advertise themselves.
Works Cited:
Gentry, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 13 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=72d94f5326f4.
MediaKix. “Why Athlete Influencers Are So Effective for Brands.” Mediakix, 28 Feb. 2019, https://mediakix.com/blog/athlete-influencers-social-media-marketing/.
Derek Goldrick The world of sports and athletic wear is such a saturated market. Without branding, there is truly nothing that distinguishes one brand from another. Branding in sports is what makes the company and what their mission and purpose so unique from the rest. When compared to celebrity branding, there are some similarities and differences. In terms of similarity between both celebrity and sport branding, is the understanding of what market they are targeting. As talked about in my previous blog surrounding a successful celebrity branding campaign being Kanye West, West understood his market would be those who craved a level of high fashion that was still attainable by most everyday people as well as other celebrities. Brands such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour etc., understand that they have a market that needs to serve both high end customers as well as the working class. A way that differentiates celebrity branding from sport branding is their use of celebrity endorsements. Most celebrity branding is the ability to market themselves. An example of this is Kylie Jenner and her cosmetic brand, Kylie Cosmetics. The name of the company is the first thing that stands out to users. Users know that they are buying a product with the direct name of the celebrity they are supporting, in this scenario Kylie Jenner. In fact, most people would not even gravitate to buying a brand of that expense and comparability to other cheaper brands if Ms. Jenner had no involvement at all. It shows that the name itself is what truly sells the products that are on shelves and online. The way that sports branding differs from this is that it is not one name being marketed it is multiple. Companies such as Nike utilize many different athletes to reach consumers of all kinds and interests. They utilize athletes of all different genders, ethnicities, beliefs, and more specifically a variety of sports.
Derek Goldrick 2 This leads to the topic of successful athletes and franchises leveraging their brands within the marketplace. A successful athlete who profits off relationships with sports brands and their own branding is LeBron James. As mentioned in Sports Pro Media, LeBron James has an influence score of 164 and is ranked the 24th most influential athlete in the world of professional sports (SportsPro Media). LeBron James has a signed deal with Nike since 2003 and has 18 shoes partnerships with the company. Some of these shoes include ‘LeBron 19’, ‘LeBron Soldier 14’, and ‘LeBron Witness 6’. What do all of these names have in common? The common theme across his shoe line is branding his name as the name of each shoe. Who else does this? As talked about previously, Kylie Jenner. Athletes like LeBron James know the importance of brand deals and the benefit it can have on both his own financial agenda and branding as well as Nikes success and branding. So how much money does LeBron James get for his partnership and brand deals with Nike? When he signed in 2003 at just 18-years-old he signed an agreement for $90 million. Out of the ten highest paid athletes, LeBron James just missed the cut off making $96.5 million a year which in itself is a record for NBA athletes (Forbes). How much money has Nike seen from this brand deal? Every year, Nike makes $600 million on just LeBron James shoe sales alone (NBC Sports). This shows the importance of both successful athlete branding and sport company branding. A comparable female athlete is Serena Williams. Williams is the second highest paid female athlete making $45.9 million a year (Front Office Sports). Williams is another athlete who profits off of sports branding and partnerships with Nike having her own line within the sports company. She signed an eight year, $55 million deal with Nike adding to her whopping net worth.
Works Cited / by Max Molski. “Which NBA Players Have Signature Shoe Deals?” RSN, 19 Oct. 2021, https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/which-nba-players-have-signature-shoe-deals. “Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/. Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=4fe7751126f4. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Lauren Clemons Branding is so important in sports because it’s what athletes are known for in a way. Also, it allows fans to feel like they personally know the athlete and that they’re a part of the team. So may athletes have their own brands like clothing, shoes, etc. Branding in sports can cause an increase in fans for a team which creates more revenue. Athletes are known for the sport that they do, if they’re one of the best players on the team they get the most attention. Some big athletes talked about all the time in basketball are Kevin Durant, Lebron, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant etc. All these athletes have had many endorsements and sponsorships. Though Kobe has died he will forever be talked about in basketball and be one of the best players to ever play. Also, all these athletes are all with the brand Nike and some are even with more brands. Brands play huge role in athletes’ careers and that benefits both the athlete and brand. That helps the athletes make even more money; like of course fans are going to buy their shoes and clothing, and Nike is already a big brand. Michael Jordan has made so much money from his sneakers, and there’s still new shoes coming out. When a brand sponsors an athlete, they want someone who has a good reputation and will help the brand grow. I think it’s nice when an athlete does a commercial, because we only see them play a sport and not another side of them really. But also, social media plays a big role where they can express themselves. Athletes can show how they are outside of sports and their lives. We can sometimes see a more personal side of them, and a lot of times athletes talk about their mental health like: Simon Biles, Kevin Love Naomi Osaka, Mardy Fish, etc.
But the difference between celebrities and athletes, is that athletes rely more on sponsors and brand deals. Celebrities that are actors, singers, comedians, etc. don’t rely so much on brand deals because they make money no matter what. Smaller athletes and especially professional women athletes don’t make as much money and rely on more sponsors and brand deals. There is a huge pay gap between men and women in the athlete world. Naomi Osaka is the top paid female athlete: according to “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” tennis star Naomi Osaka topped the list at $57.3 million, with just $2.3 million of that coming from prize money (Gentrup). Men are being paid 100 million or way more than that, and that’s crazy to me: “10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World in 2021.” states with spectators returning to sports, and the world returning to work following the coronavirus pandemic, the earned money for the world's highest-paid athletes has increased. In 2020, the top ten biggest earners in the sports world brought in a total of $819.2 million. This calendar year, the number increases by nearly $200 million. Between the 10 of them, the ten highest-paid athletes in the world will bring in a total of $1.05 billion dollars in 2021(Sprather). Conor McGregor was the top male athlete on the list to earn $180 million. Lebron is also another athlete who makes a lot of money: according to “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” LeBron James was just shy of joining that elite group. The Los Angeles Lakers star took home $96.5 million, a record for NBA players. Another record set in 2021: the $75 million cutoff to qualify for the top ten, beating the previous high-water mark of $65.4 million from 2019 (Knight). Women make no where close to what men make, but I do understand there’s a lot more that plays into the pay differences. Overall, celebrities and athletes are different; and branding is very important in an athlete’s career, and social media plays a role. It allows fans to follow their favorite athletes; gives athletes an opportunity to get more brand deals due to their followers.
Works Cited Gentrup, Abigail “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/. Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=24d5bfa726f4.
Sprather. “10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World in 2021.” ESPN Lafayette, 22 Dec. 2021, https://espnlafayette.com/10-highest-paid-athletes-in-the-world-in-2021/.
In today’s momentary world, branding is a dealbreaker for keeping people’s attention. Sports are no different, and the athletes who have capitalized on personality are reaping the benefits. While athletes are not always into their celebrity status, they must always put an effort into the way they present themselves off the field as well. These days social media has made it easy to the point where no one has an excuse, and it has helped a lot of people out because personality sells. Smart athletes are using their online presence for loads of behind the scenes content, training tips and more fun inside looks that people don’t get from just anyone. People are very curious, and these special looks into their career and life can make an athlete a lot of money. This presence is important at a time where sports viewership is down significantly for the upcoming generation. According to a survey from Morning Consult, Gen Z has become much less drawn to sports than previous generations. This generation is half as likely to consistently watch sports, and twice as likely to never watch at all when compared to all adults (Silverman). This displays that the new generations do not stay locked in to anything like other generations do, and so the players have to grab the attention they can while their window is open. Many smart players have done this through on-field antics as well as brand deals. As the Forbes’ highest-paid athlete list shows, Conor Mcgregor was the highest-paid athlete of 2021 with a total of 180 million dollars. This becomes even more impressive when you realize that he has only fought one time in the year to make this amount. Also, despite the hefty 22 million dollar fight check, his brand deals are still what shot him to the top totaling 158 million between Proper Twelve, Draftkings and more (Knight). The UFC is not known for its characters, but Mcgregor has made himself quite the exception due to his loud mouth and antics, and these efforts have allowed him to sign deals that other fighters dream of. The list shows a similar position for athletes like Lebron James, Roger Federer and more, displaying the importance of presence and brand deals over everything. These two athletes are everywhere in their communities and on networks, and they are never missing a check because of it. This new need for presence has trickled down to every company and service existing today, and anyone who cares is making an effort to keep up. As the SportsPro article says, “First off, brands looking to connect with sports fans should recognise that the most marketable athletes are showing their personalities and speaking out. They are being open and honest. Therefore, brands must do the same, not just in their words, but in their actions.” (Gregory). This article details how personality is the key to people’s attention in 2022, and oftentimes companies can use athletes to display their personality and everybody wins. With a media climate like today’s, out of sight means out of mind. Therefore, the most creative athletes will be the ones that win on and off of the field.
Works Cited
“Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/. Gregory, By: Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/. Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=1300aa9f26f4. The Sports Industry’s Gen z Problem - Morning Consult. https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.
Lilly Davidson
ReplyDeleteBranding is very important in sports. As mentioned in the previous blog post, branding is important for public figures, whether they be celebrities or athletes. And who’s to say they can’t be both? Anyone in the public eye comes under scrutiny, so this is where branding comes in. Branding can play a crucial role for both teams or individual players, elevating their status, advocating for issues, or growing their popularity. Social media also has a big part in this, helping give athletes their own platform.
Branding in sports shows what athletes stand for within the industry. It gives fans something to identify with, makes them more recognizable among competitors, and makes it easier to secure sponsorships (Colman). Social media brings all of this together and puts it on a platform for everyone to see. Women’s sports, for example, “have seen a significant spike in audience growth, with the most important factor being the level of passion that fans have for their favourite players and teams…seen in the high level of social media engagement female athletes receive” (Gregory). Female athletes have been growing in popularity recently, and a lot of that comes down to the way they brand themselves and how social media enforces that.
Athletes can also use social media as a way to show who they are as a human being, not just an athlete. Those who “show their authentic personalities and speak out about their passions away from the field of play are often more marketable than athletes who stick to posting on social media about their sport” (Gregory). Similar to celebrity branding, posting about something other than a certain project or game, rather real issues and authenticity, is very good for their brand, and makes them easier to market. Which is good because female athletes are seeing more money coming from endorsements than solely competing (Gentrup). I think this is also where we see a difference in sports branding from celebrity branding. Endorsements and sponsorships are very important in sports, allowing athletes to create a sustainable income outside of games. This is how teams can get promotions and investments. Celebrities, on the other hand, don’t necessarily need endorsements for their brand. Getting brand deals doesn’t guarantee getting hired for different projects. Yes, sponsors are great, but they don’t make or break celebrities like they can with athletes.
Other than speaking out about topics different from sports, athletes can also leverage their brands in the marketplace by speaking about the difficult topics within their sport. One big example is mental health. Recently, a lot of athletes have come forward about their struggles with mental health. Just look at Simone Biles. Showing that “it is OK to prioritise your mental health and take a break, even in the moments when the world is expecting you to be at your best” (Gregory) has been really beneficial for athletes and their brands. There is clearly a lot that athletes can use to promote their brands as well as the positive effects branding in sports can have as a whole.
Works Cited
Colman, Z. “Why Is Branding so Important in Sports?” Creatitive, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Ben Labadia – Part 1
ReplyDeleteBranding is an important factor of sports marketing for athletes, teams, and brands. Branding is the main source of income for many celebrity athletes. During 2021, the top 10 highest paid athletes made more money than any athlete, with Conor McGregor making $180 million throughout the year. $158 million of this, however, was from endorsements alone (Knight). Brand endorsements, a marketing and promotional strategy used to help athletes reach a wider audience and create brand awareness, are what bring in the most amount of money for athletes. Whether you are the winner of an Olympic Gold Medal or a National Championship title, brands want to utilize these well-known athletes to help them bring their brand to more people. And what is so great about athletes is they’re brand is all about health and success, so it is a great way to show the same about a company’s products.
It is also important regarding college athletes because college athletes are unable to be paid by schools, as they would then be seen as “employees” of the university, and not just students. However, legislations have begun allowing students to be endorsed by brands to use their name, image, and likeness. And many companies are eager to sign with these athletes because of the following many of them have, as well as the loyalty people have to specific schools. Some deals have even reached up to $1million for student athletes, something they would have never had before (Nocera).
Athlete branding is similar to celebrity branding in that these athletes become celebrities by their fans. As discussed in class, being a celebrity means to be known for being known. Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Serena Williams are known by practically everyone, even if you don’t like sports. In addition, many celebrities begin utilizing their social medias to get brand deals to continue making money outside of whatever sport they play. In a similar vein to Dwayne Johnson’s tequila company, Conor McGregor has a whiskey brand. These celebrity athletes, too, are pushing their efforts outside of sports to make even more money. For college athletes becoming celebrities, they are using branding to simply make any money at all. Some are even branching off to create clothing brands or trademarking their signature name (Nocera). It is different from other celebrity branding, however, because, as stated prior, their brand is more based around health and athleticism, and so the brands that they endorse must keep in line with that, while other celebrities have a larger range of products they can endorse.
Ben Labadia – Part 2
DeleteAthletes have many ways they can utilize their brands to grow and become more successful. When looking less at follower counts and more at what makes athletes marketable, it was found that there are multiple factors to look out for, and Simone Biles is the top marketable athlete to hit all the categories (Gregory). The categories include the passion of fans, having purpose, and authenticity. Female athletes tend to have higher social media engagement compared to follower counts, even more so than male athletes with far larger followings. Athletes with purpose thrive more, and despite only two people talking about mental health in the top 50 athletes, the two who spoke on it were the top two in the list: Biles and Naomi Osaka. Being authentic and opening up to the fans also creates a connection that brands and audiences care about (Gregory). The US Women’s National Team was also a great indicator of success, as they are a group consisted of many strong stars that fans can follow. They also use their platforms to open up about their personal lives and speak a lot about family and social injustices, especially their lack of fair pay in comparison to their male counterparts (Gregory).
For student athletes, the criteria is similar, needed outstanding athleticism, a good attitude, a clean background, and good engagement on socials. While still being a student, consistent and frequent social media sharing is important to maintain the engagement needed. Posts should include both the highs and lows of the athlete’s life, showing authenticity, good sportsmanship, and an ability to grow (Minardi). Growth is important in all athletes’ brands, as this tells the audience there is only going up from here, and that is something audiences would stick around for.
Works Cited
Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/.
Minardi, Paula. “Athlete Branding: Is There a Difference between pro and College Athletes on Social Media?” Greenfly, 9 Jan. 2022, https://www.greenfly.com/blog/thought-leadership/athlete-branding-pro-college-athletes-social-media/.
Nocera, Joe. “The Difference between an Unpaid and a Paid Student-Athlete? Not Much.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/23/business/college-endorsement-deals.html.
Talya Castonguay
ReplyDeletePersonal branding is something that should be important to everyone. However, it is extremely important for people who live in the spotlight under the public eye. Some of the people who have to be the most careful about their personal brands are athletes. With changing media usage practices, athletes are even further in the public eye than they ever have been. Years ago, it was, you watched them compete in their respective sport, do a press conference a few times, and every so often potentially read a magazine article about them. Now, thanks to social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, athletes are in the public eye all the time. But, why is this an issue for promoting personal/franchise brands?
Well, for starters, any public figure is under much more scrutiny. It has become harder for stories about athlete’s misendeavours to be swept under the rug by their school/professional organization. We are beginning to see more and more people be held accountable for their words and actions off the field, something people often never even heard about (Carson).
Because of this, athletes and franchises alike need to be hyper-aware of the things they’re saying and doing at all times. They’ve begun to capitalize on championships, and big moments within their careers. We see hashtags and slogans being incorporated into games and celebrations, “Champa Bay”, for example. Franchises and organizations especially have been capitalizing on streaming services recently. Leagues will strike broadcasting deals with streamers for their games to be aired on their platform, in the hopes of leagues being able to pull in more fans through people that might already be subscribed to that specific platform (Ozanian).
For other reasons, athletes often find themselves needing to promote their personal brands in order to acquire sponsorship deals from popular brands. This is especially prevalent within women’s sports because not only are women often just criticized in the media more in general, but female athletes make far less than their male counterparts. And they also have a smaller audience, considering there are no major professional female leagues that are as heavily promoted as leagues like the NFL, MLB, Premier League, etc. Because of this female athletes must individually promote themselves. This all means that they must keep themselves marketable at all times.
This idea makes sense, considering that the top 3 of the most marketable athletes are women. Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and Ashlyn Harris, respectively (Athletes). With Biles being a gymnast, Osaka a tennis player, and Harris a soccer player, their sports are often never in the forefront, save for every few years when the Olympics roll around. It’s imperative that they maintain positive brands for themselves, because if they were to lose that, they would lose much of their sponsorships and brand deals.
DeleteIn a time with social media at the forefront of everything, athletes are no longer only watched when they are competing, but they are watched and monitored by fans, and, even people who don’t like them, waiting for them to say or do something that they can capitalize on. Self-promotion is a dangerous game, however many athletes have found success for themselves throughout the years.
Works Cited
“Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/.
Carson, Frank. “10 Reasons Sports Are America's No. 1 Priority.” Sportscasting, 8 Jan. 2015, https://www.sportscasting.com/10-reasons-sports-are-americas-no-1-priority-2/.
Ozanian, Mike. “World's Most Valuable Sports Teams 2021.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/05/07/worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-2021/?sh=2f5d4bd23e9e.
Nicole Clemons
ReplyDeleteBranding is very important when it comes to sports. As time progressed social media branding has become a big part of athletes’ lives. Athletes are constantly in the public eye and are being looked at and their brand can change how people view them while they are playing. Social media has been able to give athletes a platform to voice their opinions freely.
Branding in sports gives athletes the platform to talk about what they believe in, build trust, and lead to more sponsorships. Athletes use their platforms to announce organizations and charities they support which brings awareness to the cause from their large following, “The right brand for sports professionals is a way to show what you stand for within the industry. It gives fans something concrete to identify with and makes it easier to be recognized amidst your competitors” (Colman). The more people that recognize their brand the more trust they receive. This can lead their followers to be more invested in something because their favorite athlete or one they look up to supports a certain cause. When an athlete has a good and notable brand they will receive more sponsorships, “sponsors rarely look for new or up-and-coming athletes without a firm sense of who they are. Simply put, they don’t have a strong enough sense of self as a brand to represent another company successfully. Why? Because sponsors count on athletes to promote their products or business” (Colman).
Athletes use their social media platforms to get endorsements and sponsorships. Although all athletes do this it is something female athletes rely on. Sponsorships and endorsements are where female athletes generate a lot of their revenue. Unlike male athletes who generate a majority of it through competition. Even the highest-paid female athletes prize money in nowhere comparable to men’s’ “The top 10 accounted for a combined $167 million in pretax earnings according to Forbes, a 23% increase compared to 2020. Tennis star Naomi Osaka topped the list at $57.3 million, with just $2.3 million of that coming from prize money” (Gentrup). Even during the pandemic when everything was shut down the highest-paid athletes were not affected because of endorsements, “But with athletes making more than ever off the field, the drop is more nuisance than disaster” (Knight).
Nicole Clemons cont
DeleteThis is where I can see similarities and differences between celebrities and athletes. They both rely on brand deals and endorsements to bring in extra revenue. Especially if they are influencers brand deals make up a huge part of their revenue much like female athletes. With social media continuing to grow athletes will continue to be watched in and outside of their respective sport. People will not like them for voicing their opinions and partnering with brands. They will have to continue to promote themselves and social media gives them everything they need to do so to a large audience.
Work Cited
Colman. “Why Is Branding So Important in Sports?” Creative, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=1c75348c26f4
Gage Kilborne 1
ReplyDeleteBranding is starting to be more important in sports media than ever before. According to an article by Creatitive, sports branding helps teams gain recognition in their community (zcolman). The teams that do the best with this strategy are the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Cowboys (Forbes' article). The Dallas Cowboys' logo is arguably the most recognizable sports logo in North American sports leagues. This is all due in large part to Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, a successful businessman who views the team as a business.
It is similar to celebrity styles of branding because they use their endorsements and products on their next show. This is similar to how sports teams brand their products in games by placing the company's logo on their uniforms during the games. Sports marketing during the pre-pandemic was all about coming up with crazy commercials to pique the fans' interest according to Forbes' article on sports branding (Dabbash). Since the pandemic hit, the marketing approach from advertisers has changed their ideas on how to market their products.
Gage Kilborne 2
DeleteThe only difference from celebrity branding and sports branding is majority of the celebrity products are more beauty-based. Meanwhile, most of the products that sports teams and athletes brand are athletic companies such as Nike and Adidas. The main audience that celebrities are trying to approach is usually their fans so that is why they brand in products that is based on their interests.
The big way some athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the marketplace is by how they broadcast it. For instance, the Dallas Cowboys have a sponsorship with the Salvation Army and every home game you see the Salvation Army red bag by one of the endzones to influence Cowboys fans to donate for the cause.
Meanwhile, for athletes they can be very marketable on their own when they turn pro. I am going to discuss as if the NIL Deal within college athletics does not exist and focus more on the pros. Some of the main pro athletes do not live off of just their winnings, they also make their money off of sponsorships. The other big scenario that comes into play when talking about which athletes do a better job with reaching out to its fanbase and that is why female athletes are more marketable than male athletes because they absorb more of the attention (Gregory).
To sum it all up, the sports industry does not pale in comparison with celebrity branding and culture. There are actually a few similarities between the two and it is somewhat difficult to determine if an athlete is considered an athlete or a celebrity. A perfect example of this is Tom Brady, he is arguably considered to be one of the best players in NFL history, but he also does a lot of advertisements for a certain product.
Gage Kilborne 3
Deletecolman, Zack. “Why Is Branding so Important in Sports?” Creatitive, 11 Aug. 2021, https://creatitive.com/why-branding-is-important-sports/.
Copeland, Kareem. “Who's Making the Most from Nil? Women's Basketball Is near the Top.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/03/30/womens-college-basketball-endorsements-nil/.
Dabbah, Dave. “Council Post: Lessons Brands Can Learn from Sports Marketing (in the Pandemic and beyond).” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 July 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/07/07/lessons-brands-can-learn-from-sports-marketing-in-the-pandemic-and-beyond/?sh=1fde00e0c5c3.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Gregory, By: Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Nocera, Joe. “The Difference between an Unpaid and a Paid Student-Athlete? Not Much.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/23/business/college-endorsement-deals.html?fbclid=IwAR27coQXo_Vh1USiZIbRFO5taQE0mVsNfOD3EaHxvHb2aXEwsfcnKlrNgno.
Ozanian, Mike. “World's Most Valuable Sports Teams 2021.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/05/07/worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-2021/?sh=28dc13f33e9e.
Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.
Weprin, Alex. “With $100B NFL Deal, TV Networks Keep One Foot in the Bundle and Another in Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nfl-tv-streaming-analysis-4153564/.
Kaplan 1
ReplyDeleteBranding is so important in sports because, just like a traditional celebrity, the goal is to have as large of a fanbase as possible. Having a large fan base is particularly important in sports because the goal is not only to build a fanbase for the individual, but for the team they play for as well. The most successful athletes are not only the ones who perform the best in their sport but also the ones who know how to market themselves.
There are a lot of similarities between branding in sports and celebrity branding. When looking at SportsPro’s list of the “50 Most Marketable Athletes” in 2021 there are clear parallels between being a marketable athlete and being a marketable celebrity. For example, athletes who show their personalities and are authentic on social media are the most marketable. The athletes who post about their passions outside of just sports are most likely to be more marketable compared to the athletes who only post about their sport (Gregory, 2021). This pattern can also be seen in traditional celebrity branding. Celebrities who show their personalities through social media instead of just posting about their latest project are going to be the most profitable.
One major difference between branding in sports and celebrity branding is that in sports branding there are a lot more live events that brands can use for promotion. When a major live sporting event is being broadcast around the country or even the world, brands have the opportunity to reach a large audience (Dabbah, 2021). This is why there are advertisements throughout the area. This could be as small as a sign on the side of the field or court to a team wearing a logo across their chests. There is nothing comparable to this in traditional celebrity branding.
Kaplan 2
DeleteIn order for successful athletes and franchises to leverage their brands, not only do they have to market their achievements in sports, but their personal achievements as well. The most successful athletes in the marketing world are those who are viewed as personable and authentic. People care more about personality than they do about career success when it comes to branding as an athlete (Gregory, 2021). When looking at the list of the “Highest-Paid Female Athletes” for 2021, all of those athletes are not only known for their sport but for their personality and character. For example, Simone Biles is ranked number four on the list, but this was not her most successful year in gymnastics (Front Office Sports, 2022). People love Biles because she advocated for herself and for her mental health. People were able to see her personality this year and that is why she became so profitable.
The athletes who make a name for themselves off the field are the ones who find the most success in marketing. Branding in sports is important in order for an athlete to be successful. In the age of social media, marketing has become a crucial part of being prosperous. Athletes can no longer just be successful in their sport to become a household name, they also need to learn how to market themselves.
Work Cited:
Dabbah, D. (2021, July 7). Council post: Lessons brands can learn from sports marketing (in the pandemic and beyond). Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/07/07/lessons-brands-can-learn-from-sports-marketing-in-the-pandemic-and-beyond/?sh=1bbee4f1c5c3
Front Office Sports. (2022, January 14). Highest-paid female athletes earned $167M in 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/
Gregory, B. F. (2021, August 23). Analysing the 2021 sportspro 50 most marketable athletes list. SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/
Branding is very important in sports because athleticism can only make the athlete so much money. Having a valuable name and image in sports brings in more opportunities for athlete revenue. A great example of branding in sports is MMA fighter Conor McGregor. McGregor is the highest paid athlete of 2021 with earning $180 million dollars. He received 22 million dollars for his fight in the UCF that year. This fraction of his earnings comes from the sport he is known to play and if it weren’t for his likeness, name, and other investments of revenue he would be a low earning MMA fighter. He is making his money in other ways such as endorsements, investments, and businesses. Even because of McGregor’s name and image he is “one of those very few MMA fighters who gets paid for appearing for the event and not for his performance” (Sports News). This payment style is more common in other sports where athletes are paid a salary each year no matter how well they perform on the field.
ReplyDeleteBranding for athletes is very similar to celebrity branding. When we discussed what makes someone a celebrity and a star in class, being well known for being known applies to the sports world too. This has become so important to athletes especially women athletes because of the pay and recognition discrepancy in media. A lot of athletes play the sport because of their passion and that creates an identity to brand. Women athletes are not making nearly as much as their male counterparts which makes earning money as a women athlete is extremely difficult. Women athletes create a brand and image that people enjoy so businesses want to endorse and make deals with them to reach the demographic that the athletes have curated due to their likeness and image. An athlete like Serena Williams makes an estimated amount of $45.9 million and about 900,000 is on field earnings.
The best way some athletes leverage their brand in the marketplace is creating an identity and personality like any other celebrity selling themselves or a product. This can be done through different ways like their own social media or endorsements. If a famous person wants to build a business, they also must have the likeness for it to sell. The idea is to be marketable, and athletes do a great job at this to set themselves up for making a profit outside of their field experience. An athlete provides an authentic take to celebrities because it is their natural talent that makes them popular. This transcends into their products and brands when they establish their name and image enough to make their businesses money.
part 2
ReplyDelete“Conor McGregor Net Worth.” Sports News, https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/conor-mcgregor-net-worth.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=4e50b5e126f4.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJust like actors, musicians, and influencers, branding is also important with athletes in sports. Sports fans tend to look up to these athletes and view them as their role model, so it’s very important for athletes to also create a good brand for themselves in order to continue their reputation of being an idol. As a public figure, athletes are constantly in the spotlight, so branding is crucial for them to grow their popularity through many different techniques. A big factor of growing their brand is through social media.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to celebrity branding verses branding in sports, there are many similarities. Sports branding used effectively results in increasing in customer loyalty, improving the public perception of your business, attracting new customers and developing strong brand identity (“Sports-”). Similarly, celebrity branding also intends to attract more customers towards their product through popularity. A huge way to be successful with both sports branding and celebrity branding is the use of social media. “Professional athletes have created a wide range of companies that offer products and services to their fanbase, leveraging social media to boost initial exposure to potential customers” (“The-”).
The highest paid athlete as of last year is Conor McGregor with a total of $180 million in 12 months (Knight). The majority of the money he earned was from his endorsement deal with the whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve where he made $158 million (Knight). Clearly brand endorsements reel in most of athletes’ money, as McGregor only earned $22 million out of the $180 million from fighting. Another example is tennis player Roger Federer who only made his money of $90 million from a brand deal with Rolex, Credit Suisse, Uniqlo and Swiss athletic apparel company On (Knight). During COVID-19 is when sports branding was especially popular for athletes.
Authenticity is really important for successful athletes and for franchises to leverage their brands in the marketplace this day and age. Brands that are looking for sports fans need to recognize that the most marketable athletes are the ones that show their personalities and are open and honest (Gregory). Fans love seeing a celebrity or public figure that they can relate to because it shows that they are human too.
Overall, authenticity is definitely a huge factor in leveraging brands into the marketplace. Mental health is an important topic that only recently was considered “appropriate” to talk about openly. When Simone Biles came out about her mental health on social media, she attracted so many more fans and created a brand image for herself that increased her status. Being familiar with social media and using your voice are two of the most important ways to be successful in sports branding.
Works Cited
“Sports Team Branding & Marketing: BrandStar Sports & Entertainment.” BrandStar Sports & Entertainment 2021, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.brandstarsports.com/blog/sports-team-branding-and-marketing-brandstarsports/.
“The Benefits of Social Media for Professional Athlete: Brandstar Sports & Entertainment.” BrandStar Sports & Entertainment 2021, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.brandstarsports.com/blog/the-benefits-of-social-media-for-professional-athlete/.
Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's
50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021,
https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports
Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/.
Blake Guerriero
ReplyDeleteBranding is extremely important in sports regarding players and teams. For teams, branding is huge because it develops the entire identity of the organization and sometimes even gains fans. I personally know people who support their favorite teams simply due to their branding such as their logo, colors, uniforms etc. Branding helps team create their identity, there’s a reason why sports franchises around the major sports leagues come out with new jerseys every season. This helps market the organizations brand and draws attention to people outside the sport the franchise is in as well. Sports team branding is a great opportunity to define and communicate a team's unique identity and core values (Schäferhoff). By positioning yourself in a certain way, you make it easier for players, fans, and club members to find commonalities and points for identification. As for the athletes, branding is huge for them, it gives them a personality away from the game and gives fans a unique look at what they are all about. Social helps with all this, it gives athletes and opportunity to have their own platform and further market their personal identity and brand. Going off that, female athletes have always been in the back of the line when it comes to being noticed, but social media as helped them brand themselves further. Women’s sports have seen a significant spike in audience growth, with the most important factor being the level of passion that fans have for their favorite players and teams. Seen in the high level of social media engagement female athletes receive (Gregory). Self-branding for female athletes is so important for them because even though they are very good at the sport they play, most of their income comes from branding and endorsements. The world’s highest-paid female athletes have made a name for themselves in their respective sports, but most of the women make more money from endorsements than they do competing (Gentrup).
Athletes using branding for money purposes is obvious, but as mentioned, it shows their human side and the type of person they are. Athletes with social media can show their values as a person and stand for what they believe in. They can go on social media and talk about real world issues and other things such as mental health, which is starting to become more accepted and understood than it ever has thanks to athletes. When someone who struggles with mental health sees that an athlete and even their favorite athlete come out and talk about mental health and problems, they themselves have experienced with it, that could go a long way. Branding for both athletes and teams are important in sports and have a huge impact among fans.
DeleteWorks Cited
Gregory, Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Gentrup, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Schäferhoff, N. (2019, July 2). Sports team branding and how to do it right. ThemeBoy. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.themeboy.com/blog/sports-team-branding/
Amanda Perlin
ReplyDeleteBlog 8, Question 1
Part 1
Sports teams rely on their branding to create a fan base and generate significant revenue. Sports branding is very important for professional athletes as it helps establish a consistent image and makes it easier to present it across various mediums. It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual athlete or a team. Whether you play for a team or represent a profession, having a strong brand is very important to increase your fan base and credibility. According to, Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $165M in 2021, Despite being the world's highest-paid female athletes, most of them earn less than they do from endorsements. “The world’s highest-paid female athletes have made a name for themselves in their respective sports, but most of the women make more money from endorsements than they do competing.” (Gentrup). Having the right logo and color scheme is also key to making yourself stand out from the crowd. There are differences and similarities between sports branding and celebrity branding. Product branding is the process of creating an identity for a product or service that consumers are likely to buy. Sport branding is the process of creating an identity for a sports team or organization that's geared toward gaining support and respect. Both product and sport branding are focused on creating unique and distinctive identities that stand out from their competitors. Both product and sport branding focus on having a consistent brand image. While product branding mainly involves designing and branding their products, sport branding focuses on the whole organization.
According to the article, Why athlete influencers are so effective, Professional athletes have been known to endorse various products and services for years. Some of the most prominent deals include those involving Jordan and Nike. “For years, professional athletes have been used to endorse a variety of brands, products, and services. Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike, recognized by many as the archetypal athlete endorsement deal” (MediaKix). While many celebrities still act as pop culture celebrities, top athletes are now becoming social media influencers due to the direct line of communication they have with their fans and followers. This growing network of followers can be attributed to their ongoing exposure to various media outlets. “When they perform well — winning championships, breaking records — or are otherwise covered in the press, these athlete influencers gain additional attention, resulting in more followers on social media.”. (MediaKix). Being a social media influencer is more than just a job for athletes. Many of them are also role models and trendsetters. Through their platforms, these athletes have also found new ways to connect with their fans and followers. “Exposing their authentic selves through social media, athlete influencers have found new ways to engage with people outside of the sporting arena.” (MediaKix).
Amanda Perlin
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1, Part 2
In the Forbes article, The world’s 10 highest paid athletes, Brett Knight talks about how the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world earned a combined total of over $1 billion during the past year. This is a significant increase from last year's top earners. However, it's still a few million short of the record earnings of boxer Floyd Mayweather. “The ten highest-paid athletes in the world took home pretax gross earnings of $1.05 billion during the past 12 months, 28% more than last year’s top earners.” (Knight). This year, mixed martial arts fighter and entrepreneur Conor McGregor emerged as the biggest winner. He was able to build a successful business outside of the UFC due to his immense popularity. “This year, McGregor lands the winning punch, having leveraged his unmatched popularity in mixed martial arts to build a lucrative hustle outside UFC’s Octagon”. (Knight). Despite how much money professional athletes make; they are not as legendary as celebrities. There are a few similarities and differences between the two and the success of professional athletes is largely credited to their off-field success. Aside from being successful on the field, they also need to be wealthy in marketing themselves. In the age of social media, it is important that athletes learn how to advertise themselves.
Works Cited:
Gentry, Abigail. “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 13 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 May 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=72d94f5326f4.
MediaKix. “Why Athlete Influencers Are So Effective for Brands.” Mediakix, 28 Feb. 2019, https://mediakix.com/blog/athlete-influencers-social-media-marketing/.
Derek Goldrick
ReplyDeleteThe world of sports and athletic wear is such a saturated market. Without branding, there is truly nothing that distinguishes one brand from another. Branding in sports is what makes the company and what their mission and purpose so unique from the rest.
When compared to celebrity branding, there are some similarities and differences. In terms of similarity between both celebrity and sport branding, is the understanding of what market they are targeting. As talked about in my previous blog surrounding a successful celebrity branding campaign being Kanye West, West understood his market would be those who craved a level of high fashion that was still attainable by most everyday people as well as other celebrities. Brands such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour etc., understand that they have a market that needs to serve both high end customers as well as the working class. A way that differentiates celebrity branding from sport branding is their use of celebrity endorsements. Most celebrity branding is the ability to market themselves. An example of this is Kylie Jenner and her cosmetic brand, Kylie Cosmetics. The name of the company is the first thing that stands out to users. Users know that they are buying a product with the direct name of the celebrity they are supporting, in this scenario Kylie Jenner. In fact, most people would not even gravitate to buying a brand of that expense and comparability to other cheaper brands if Ms. Jenner had no involvement at all. It shows that the name itself is what truly sells the products that are on shelves and online. The way that sports branding differs from this is that it is not one name being marketed it is multiple. Companies such as Nike utilize many different athletes to reach consumers of all kinds and interests. They utilize athletes of all different genders, ethnicities, beliefs, and more specifically a variety of sports.
Derek Goldrick 2
DeleteThis leads to the topic of successful athletes and franchises leveraging their brands within the marketplace. A successful athlete who profits off relationships with sports brands and their own branding is LeBron James. As mentioned in Sports Pro Media, LeBron James has an influence score of 164 and is ranked the 24th most influential athlete in the world of professional sports (SportsPro Media). LeBron James has a signed deal with Nike since 2003 and has 18 shoes partnerships with the company. Some of these shoes include ‘LeBron 19’, ‘LeBron Soldier 14’, and ‘LeBron Witness 6’. What do all of these names have in common? The common theme across his shoe line is branding his name as the name of each shoe. Who else does this? As talked about previously, Kylie Jenner. Athletes like LeBron James know the importance of brand deals and the benefit it can have on both his own financial agenda and branding as well as Nikes success and branding. So how much money does LeBron James get for his partnership and brand deals with Nike? When he signed in 2003 at just 18-years-old he signed an agreement for $90 million. Out of the ten highest paid athletes, LeBron James just missed the cut off making $96.5 million a year which in itself is a record for NBA athletes (Forbes). How much money has Nike seen from this brand deal? Every year, Nike makes $600 million on just LeBron James shoe sales alone (NBC Sports). This shows the importance of both successful athlete branding and sport company branding. A comparable female athlete is Serena Williams. Williams is the second highest paid female athlete making $45.9 million a year (Front Office Sports). Williams is another athlete who profits off of sports branding and partnerships with Nike having her own line within the sports company. She signed an eight year, $55 million deal with Nike adding to her whopping net worth.
Works Cited
/ by Max Molski. “Which NBA Players Have Signature Shoe Deals?” RSN, 19 Oct. 2021, https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/which-nba-players-have-signature-shoe-deals.
“Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=4fe7751126f4.
“Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Lauren Clemons
ReplyDeleteBranding is so important in sports because it’s what athletes are known for in a way. Also, it allows fans to feel like they personally know the athlete and that they’re a part of the team. So may athletes have their own brands like clothing, shoes, etc. Branding in sports can cause an increase in fans for a team which creates more revenue.
Athletes are known for the sport that they do, if they’re one of the best players on the team they get the most attention. Some big athletes talked about all the time in basketball are Kevin Durant, Lebron, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant etc. All these athletes have had many endorsements and sponsorships. Though Kobe has died he will forever be talked about in basketball and be one of the best players to ever play. Also, all these athletes are all with the brand Nike and some are even with more brands. Brands play huge role in athletes’ careers and that benefits both the athlete and brand. That helps the athletes make even more money; like of course fans are going to buy their shoes and clothing, and Nike is already a big brand. Michael Jordan has made so much money from his sneakers, and there’s still new shoes coming out.
When a brand sponsors an athlete, they want someone who has a good reputation and will help the brand grow. I think it’s nice when an athlete does a commercial, because we only see them play a sport and not another side of them really. But also, social media plays a big role where they can express themselves. Athletes can show how they are outside of sports and their lives. We can sometimes see a more personal side of them, and a lot of times athletes talk about their mental health like: Simon Biles, Kevin Love Naomi Osaka, Mardy Fish, etc.
But the difference between celebrities and athletes, is that athletes rely more on sponsors and brand deals. Celebrities that are actors, singers, comedians, etc. don’t rely so much on brand deals because they make money no matter what. Smaller athletes and especially professional women athletes don’t make as much money and rely on more sponsors and brand deals. There is a huge pay gap between men and women in the athlete world. Naomi Osaka is the top paid female athlete: according to “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” tennis star Naomi Osaka topped the list at $57.3 million, with just $2.3 million of that coming from prize money (Gentrup). Men are being paid 100 million or way more than that, and that’s crazy to me: “10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World in 2021.” states with spectators returning to sports, and the world returning to work following the coronavirus pandemic, the earned money for the world's highest-paid athletes has increased. In 2020, the top ten biggest earners in the sports world brought in a total of $819.2 million. This calendar year, the number increases by nearly $200 million. Between the 10 of them, the ten highest-paid athletes in the world will bring in a total of $1.05 billion dollars in 2021(Sprather). Conor McGregor was the top male athlete on the list to earn $180 million. Lebron is also another athlete who makes a lot of money: according to “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” LeBron James was just shy of joining that elite group. The Los Angeles Lakers star took home $96.5 million, a record for NBA players. Another record set in 2021: the $75 million cutoff to qualify for the top ten, beating the previous high-water mark of $65.4 million from 2019 (Knight). Women make no where close to what men make, but I do understand there’s a lot more that plays into the pay differences.
ReplyDeleteOverall, celebrities and athletes are different; and branding is very important in an athlete’s career, and social media plays a role. It allows fans to follow their favorite athletes; gives athletes an opportunity to get more brand deals due to their followers.
Works Cited
Gentrup, Abigail “Highest-Paid Female Athletes Earned $167M in 2021.” Front Office Sports, 14 Jan. 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/highest-paid-female-athletes-earned-167m-in-2021/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=24d5bfa726f4.
Sprather. “10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World in 2021.” ESPN Lafayette, 22 Dec. 2021, https://espnlafayette.com/10-highest-paid-athletes-in-the-world-in-2021/.
In today’s momentary world, branding is a dealbreaker for keeping people’s attention. Sports are no different, and the athletes who have capitalized on personality are reaping the benefits. While athletes are not always into their celebrity status, they must always put an effort into the way they present themselves off the field as well. These days social media has made it easy to the point where no one has an excuse, and it has helped a lot of people out because personality sells. Smart athletes are using their online presence for loads of behind the scenes content, training tips and more fun inside looks that people don’t get from just anyone. People are very curious, and these special looks into their career and life can make an athlete a lot of money. This presence is important at a time where sports viewership is down significantly for the upcoming generation. According to a survey from Morning Consult, Gen Z has become much less drawn to sports than previous generations. This generation is half as likely to consistently watch sports, and twice as likely to never watch at all when compared to all adults (Silverman). This displays that the new generations do not stay locked in to anything like other generations do, and so the players have to grab the attention they can while their window is open. Many smart players have done this through on-field antics as well as brand deals. As the Forbes’ highest-paid athlete list shows, Conor Mcgregor was the highest-paid athlete of 2021 with a total of 180 million dollars. This becomes even more impressive when you realize that he has only fought one time in the year to make this amount. Also, despite the hefty 22 million dollar fight check, his brand deals are still what shot him to the top totaling 158 million between Proper Twelve, Draftkings and more (Knight). The UFC is not known for its characters, but Mcgregor has made himself quite the exception due to his loud mouth and antics, and these efforts have allowed him to sign deals that other fighters dream of. The list shows a similar position for athletes like Lebron James, Roger Federer and more, displaying the importance of presence and brand deals over everything. These two athletes are everywhere in their communities and on networks, and they are never missing a check because of it. This new need for presence has trickled down to every company and service existing today, and anyone who cares is making an effort to keep up. As the SportsPro article says, “First off, brands looking to connect with sports fans should recognise that the most marketable athletes are showing their personalities and speaking out. They are being open and honest. Therefore, brands must do the same, not just in their words, but in their actions.” (Gregory). This article details how personality is the key to people’s attention in 2022, and oftentimes companies can use athletes to display their personality and everybody wins. With a media climate like today’s, out of sight means out of mind. Therefore, the most creative athletes will be the ones that win on and off of the field.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
“Athletes.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 18 Oct. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/athletes/.
Gregory, By: Frank. “Analysing the 2021 Sportspro 50 Most Marketable Athletes List.” SportsPro's 50 Most Marketable, 23 Aug. 2021, https://50mm.sportspromedia.com/analysis/2021/50-most-marketable-athletes-analysis-northstar-osaka-biles/.
Knight, Brett. “The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads a Group of Sports Stars Unfazed by the Pandemic.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2021/05/12/the-worlds-10-highest-paid-athletes-conor-mcgregor-leads-a-group-of-sports-stars-unfazed-by-the-pandemic/?sh=1300aa9f26f4.
The Sports Industry’s Gen z Problem - Morning Consult. https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.