How digital creators are changing sports partnerships

As an older Gen Zer, I remember when there were no purely digital influencers, especially in sports. Our influencers were players with a large offline presence, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Odell Beckham Jr. Influencers also included well-known journalists such as Adam Schefter, Erin Andrews and Scott Van Pelt—the reason I spent many nights secretly awake past my bedtime to watch his midnight Sportscenter broadcast. Not to mention ESPN’s hilarious SportsCenter ads that featured both journalists and players. Also read: Ad Age seeks Gen Z column contributors Players—the heart and soul of sports—will always be the main influencers. But instead of looking up to a favorite player or coach, the next generation of young sports fans is looking up to some of YouTube and Twitch’s biggest sports content creators, including IShowSpeed, the Sidemen and Sketch. And they aren’t just watching streams and videos. The annual Sidemen Charity Match—where some of YouTube’s biggest personalities, including MrBeast, Kai Cenat and Logan Paul, joined IShowSpeed, the Sidemen and Sketch for an exhibition soccer match, this year raised more than $6 million for numerous charities. The event sold out London’s Wembley Stadium with 90,000 in attendance and drew 2.7 million viewers at its peak—as many as the average 2024 MLB Wild Card postseason games in 2024. And it was all broadcast live on YouTube. Less than a month later, OBB Media created an ad for Dick’s Sporting Goods, “Speed Shopping,” featuring sports stars including Suni Lee, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Travis Hunter. The spot also spotlighted IShowSpeed—who was also a team captain for an NFL pre-Super Bowl flag football team—and Kai Cenat. More Gen Z Voices: In an industry defined by what happens in competition, some of its biggest new names have never stepped on a court or a field. But they have million-dollar budgets, travel around the globe to meet fans and do fun collaborations. Gen-Zers who have been there since the beginning met them in different ways. It was through the funny videos of Sidemen playing FIFA and doing crossbar challenge videos on a random field. It was through IShowSpeed’s over-the-top reactions to Cristiano Ronaldo’s best goals. It was through Sketch’s videos of him being funny with friends while playing Madden. Those are activities from simpler days that sports fans are drawn to: going outside to play catch with buddies, relaxing with friends with PlayStation, having Madden tournaments in your best friend’s living room. But what does all this mean for the future? In my humble opinion, collaborative product lines and even more activations. We are already seeing product collaborations. German fitness influencer Pamela Reif joined forces with Puma to launch an athleisure collection in what was a landmark move for the influencer economy. Creators are no longer a channel through which brands push their products out; they are business partners, creating the product and sharing revenue. More: 24 Gen Zers to watch in marketing and advertising It’s not unlike how tennis stars Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith evolved from product endorsers into collaborators. Among NBA stars, Kobe Bryant did it with Adidas and Nike, Allen Iverson with Reebok and Michael Jordan with Nike. We see this in action in other industries, especially beauty and food, with Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee, MrBeast’s Feastables and Beast Burgers and Michelle Phan’s EM Cosmetics. It is only a question of time before the sports industry follows. If brands and advertisers want to reach their target customers—especially Gen Z and Gen Alphas, both of whom tend to purchase most of their goods online—leaning into the new digital sports influencers is not the future but the present. Between IShowSpeed’s Dick’s Sporting Goods ad and the presence of multiple creators in this year’s Super Bowl ads, brands are trusting creators more with their promotions today. And when Speed—as he is known online—creates a soccer cleats line with Nike, remember you heard it here first. Don’t miss: Gen Z marketing glossary

How digital creators are redefining sports partnerships

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