Tapping Into Content Creators – Sports Business Journal

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Sports industry continues to find ways to reach new demos and grow brands
Sports properties are tapping into content creators with growing frequency, drawn to the fresh takes they can deliver and their reach among younger and more diverse demographics.
Over the past few seasons, properties such as the Olympics, NFL and NBA have partnered with creators to grow their respective brands, while other properties, such as Major League Rugby, racing and various emerging sports, have seen creators as a way of garnering more mainstream attention.
“A lot of our creators are opening those doors to people that wouldn’t have thought about rugby,” said Jericho Groenland, Major League Rugby’s vice president of marketing. “I think from speed to market, being uber creative, it’s huge for us. It really is for our growth and just kind of opening people’s eyes to something that they might not have realized was there.”
The NFL partnered with more than 50 creators at the start of the season who filmed social media content, such as travel to the league’s international games, including partnering with international creators to analyze the first NFL game held in Brazil.
The NBA expanded its creator initiative ahead of this season, leaning into archived video storytelling by leveraging the league’s video archive to discuss the game and various elements to watch.
Simply put, while a social media influencer may make a basic post that he or she was at an event, a content creator will provide a longer look with enhanced production and commentary, often building in video, graphics and other elements to anchor their posts and capture more attention.
Beyond tentpole events that draw a global audience, properties have used creators to drum up interest in other events that lend themselves to more creative opportunities, such as schedule and merchandise reveals, and playoff previews.

Kai Cenat’s work in the NBA included a segment with Kyrie Irving.YouTube / Kai Cenat

Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a creator-only event as the team entered the NBA playoffs. The campaign provided local Cleveland creators a sneak peek into the team’s offerings for the playoff season.
The franchise built upon that event’s success and turned to the creator community to kick off this season. In partnership with Rocket Mortgage, the Cavaliers brought out eight local creators — with a combined following of about 1.4 million across social platforms — to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse “Home Opener” suite to highlight the venue’s 30th anniversary.
The team said the partnership drove around 500,000 impressions and reached more than 350,000 users. For their efforts, creators received personalized gift boxes that contained items such as Beats headphones, custom cutting boards and limited edition merchandise.
While the expense for the Cavaliers was more on the modest side, the cost for partnering with creators can range dramatically, said Will Trowbridge, CEO of Saylor, a Los Angeles-based creative agency focused on entertainment brands such as Disney, Netflix, Prime Video and CBS.
“It’s all about the nuance of who the creator is, who they’re reaching, and how they’re reaching them,” Trowbridge said, adding that creators can cost from $1,000 up to hundreds of thousands “depending on their ability to impact your brand.”

He said brands can use software, such as Traackr, to find creators, or turn to agencies and management firms such as Select Management Group. The key is finding the right formula in such relationships.
NBA: Kai Cenat, Bailey Jackson, Thinking Basketball
NFL:  IShowSpeed, Allison Kucharczyk, Donald De La Haye (aka Deestroying)
MLB: Bat Boys Baseball 
Soccer: Taylor Twellman (MLS), Megan Reyes 
College basketball: John Fanta 
Racing: Ashley Kalita
“It’s all about curation and selection of the right creator for the right brand. It all comes down to the strategy,” Trowbridge said. “Because, at the end of the day, if it works for the creator, it works for the brand.”
Creators such as Ashley Kalita (motorsports), Megan Reyes (soccer), Enjoy the Show (baseball) and Bailey Jackson (basketball and aquatics) have developed followings in the tens of thousands, and cover sports at a similar level to those at a professional news outlet.
“Brands look to me for the traditional reporting style and want some of that incorporated into their own content strategy,” said Jackson, a content creator who’s worked with properties such as FanDuel, World Aquatics (which sent her to the Paris Olympic Games) and the NBA. “It’s like a healthy mix of both, but tends to lead more toward what I do on my page on a daily basis.”

World Aquatics sent Bailey Jackson to the Paris Games. Traditional media members, such as Taylor Wellman (below), have found success building their own brands by leaning more into content creation.Instagram / Bailey Jackson

Jackson said her work with the NBA was set up through her manager, Jayson Holtz, who has connections inside the league. She also said her work with FanDuel has extended her opportunities to collaborate with the WNBA and other properties.
Jackson, who creates content on a part-time basis, said she tries to bring the news to people’s feeds. She said her Instagram demographic is a 70-30 split male-to-female, and her top two age brackets are the 35-44 and 18-24 crowds.
Her style of content is something that many creators are dabbling with: Finding topics that are driving the conversation that feel authentic and relevant to their platforms. It’s a style that has been maximized by some of TV’s brightest stars: Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith and others. But in today’s media markets, bringing that persona to the vertical screen is important.
“We know [content creation’s] the next wave,” Jackson said. “So brands need to lean into that as best they can before the price goes up, because it’s just going to continue to get more expensive. It’s just going to continue to get pricier to work with an influencer, with a content creator, especially one who’s built their brand and their platform.”
That wave of interest is what’s leading more traditional media members to lean further into their own content creation. Reporters and personalities such as Fox Sports’ John Fanta (Big East basketball) and Apple’s Taylor Twellman (MLS) have used the creation vertical to grow their brand awareness and boost their sports’ following beyond their traditional broadcasts.

Instagram / Taylor Wellman

“It’s all about reaching touch points and being able to reach as many platforms as possible,” said Fanta, who focuses on college basketball and Cleveland sports. “Content creators are successful because there’s a relatability factor there. There’s something about a 2-minute video reaction to Dan Hurley staying at UConn that can do a lot more than just a classic news hit, because you do have a little bit more leeway because you control your platform.”
The creator space also provides an avenue for engagement that isn’t possible with some other forms of journalism. Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok Live and X Spaces can supercharge an already loyal audience.
“The fact that any individual can comment on a piece of content, versus a thing you did on Apple TV, ‘SportsCenter’ or linear television, is different,” Twellman said. “The ability to engage when someone says, ‘I disagree,’ and you respond, I do think that adds a completely different element to creating content.” 
That open dialogue is something the Big East tried last year, using X Spaces to hold Q&A’s with some of the conference’s most loyal reporters, such as Fanta. Nicole Early, Big East senior associate commissioner for marketing and external affairs, said the conference saw “huge momentum and engagement” in the forum, which has led to the conference looking into using the format again.
Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman added that creators, such as Fanta and others on the Big East Digital Network, have created complementary programming and put the conference in front of the next generation of fans. “It’s kept us in touch with that generation of supporters,” she said. “John’s identity has been interwoven with the conference in some beneficial ways over the last several years.”
Early said that while the Big East is not necessarily going out and hiring creators or making it a large part of its social media and brand strategy, the conference does see creators as another avenue that will gain further momentum in the coming years.
“The biggest things to look for, I believe, is understanding who fits your demo and understanding their body of work,” Early said. “Focusing on the ‘fit’ is going to create more authenticity and engagement.”
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