In simple terms, marketable athlete is one who can influence a fan or a consumer to tweak his decision positively towards a commodity – be it merchandise or ticket or event or a product. According to Brand Essence Research, the athlete endorsements market in terms of revenue was worth $2.14bn in 2023 and is expected to reach $3.13bn in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.6%. Further, North America has accounted for almost 34.6% of the market share in the athlete endorsement market followed by Europe, however, Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region with a CAGR of 6.4%
Athletes marketability is a complex mixture of on and off-field ‘metrics’ ranging from factors like on-field successes, personality, charisma and such characteristics and several off-field factors like personal life etc. SportsPro releases a list of top 150 Most Marketable Athletes every year since 2010 which considers a range of tangible and intangible factors and calculates it with sophisticated measurement and analysis tools
In this blog, we will take a look at the list and some other interesting trends towards athlete marketability in modern times
The SportsPro List
Athletes from 19 different sports makes the top 150 Most Marketable Athletes with a gender breakdown of 34% females and 66% males. Not very surprising to see the breakdown by sport where football takes the top position with 57 players followed by basketball with 29 players. A chart with top professions is given below. The entire list can be found at the SportsPro website
Within football too we can see a similar gender ratio of 33% females to 67% males. Majority of the female footballers, that is 14 out of 19, are playing in the Liga F and WSL clubs.
In case of male footballers, it’s slightly spread out. LaLiga and Premier League club players form 23 out of 38 players. Players from Saudi Pro League occupy 5 spots, Bundesliga, 3 spots and MLS, 2 spots. The breakdown in both cases are given in the chart
Athlete Turned Influencer?
One factor strongly influencing athlete marketability is the interconnection of athlete, content and fans. Fact is, digital media dominates today and it is through digital interfaces that the athlete is connected with fans directly and that’s where fans see his/her personality. The type of content uploaded, his stance on issues and purposes and so on makes an athlete come closer to the fans which in turn increases the engagement rates
It is becoming increasingly important for the athlete to have a strong and likeable personality for him to build his career. As mentioned in SportsPro, consumers and brands have been increasingly valuing athletes who align with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. In such a scenario, content is the key. A very interesting study undertaken by Rich Johnson, a brand, content and partnerships specialist, explores the use of YouTube by the SportsPro 50 Most Marketable Athletes. The results are eye-opening:
- 25 out of 50 athletes in the actually have a channel set up
- 6 athletes last uploaded over 3 years ago
- 5 athletes use it for contractual purposes uploading sponsor ads
- 3 athletes only posts shorts and 1 athlete has never posted
Further examination reveals excluding athletes who only use YouTube as advertising space or have not uploaded recently (within the last 3 months), only 8 of the 50 have an ‘active’ YouTube presence.
Which essentially means, content space is yet to be leveraged and utilised by majority of athletes
Case Study: Cristiano Ronaldo’s YouTube Channel
Cristiano Ronaldo recently launched his YouTube channel, which could be his path to establishing a post-playing career. Ronaldo is massively followed on other social media too which makes it interesting to understand why he opted to start his own channel. Shikenso Analytics have conducted an in-depth analysis of his YouTube channel from launch to 4th Sept period. The insights are phenomenal:
- From officially launching his channel on July 8, 2024 to his first video post on August 21, 2024, the channel had already amassed a staggering 12.6mn subscribers—without a single piece of content
- From the first video post, till Sept 4, 2024 the channel’s growth has skyrocketed to 57.2mn subscribers (on Oct 30, it has a count of 65.8mn subscribers)
- From August 21, 2024, to Sept 4, 2024, his 30 videos and shorts have collectively garnered a total of 389.37mn views
- Engagement rate of the channel stands at an impressive 12.84%, (Shorts has even more at 29%) way higher than the industry average which lies between 2%-6%
The point to note is how Ronaldo has adapted to today’s market needs and expanded his footprint in the digital media. He has created a pathway for other athletes and celebrities to follow
In Conclusion
Athlete marketability is a very strategic and thought-through process and in today’s world, it is very much needed. Athletes who not only excel in their sport but also build lasting, meaningful personal brands that resonate across digital, social, and cultural spheres will go on to become the ‘influencers’ in the future
