Helping brands to partner with athletes in their influencer marketing and sponsorship marketing campaigns

Have you ever wondered how to get your brand sponsored by an NFL Athlete? The long-awaited 2022-23 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, September 8th, and what a better time to find out some important elements of the process! 

Know who your target audience is before sponsoring an NFL player

It’s important to have a clear understanding of who and where your brand is best suited to work with based on ideal demographic information. NFL athletes have some of the highest followers out of pro-athletes and knowing which players are best suited based on the teams they play for is an important factor in gaining the best results

Budgeting and Cost - Understand your budget before starting the campaign

Finding an NFL athlete to work with according to a certain budget is important in understanding how to navigate a successful campaign. Depending on the form of the deliverable, the cost may differ. For example, it might be easier for a brand to ask an athlete to take at-home photos with a product vs a full commercial shoot. These deliverable factors are a huge key in determining the cost of a campaign.

Think about your NFL campaign and how you can maximize personalization

Making campaigns personalized with certain athletes can go a long way in building successful results. Opensponsorship’s platform allows users to see athletes' personal interests and can choose to work with an athlete based on a particular interest. Athletes are much more likely to build a relationship with a brand of their personal interest and could already have the established following that is best suited to market to. 

NFL Sponsorship Growth over the Years

The NFL has solidified itself as the most profitable sports league in the world, generating revenue of $11.1 billion. Out of that large revenue, nearly $2 billion came from sponsorship revenue. The primary industries spending on sponsorships with the NFL derive from technology, alcohol, and gambling. In recent years, the gambling industry has taken its sponsorship partnership with the NFL to new heights with huge long-term deals. This is only the initial stage of what the gambling industry has to bring to the revenue of the NFL and will continue to see year-over-year increases. 

NFL Athletes Leading the Sponsorship Race

With the growth in social media platforms, the engagement between NFL athletes and fans has never been closer before. Last season NFL stars: Rob Gronkowski, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Russell Wilson, and Travis Kelce lead players by taking on 25 brand deals each, with Gronkowski leading the way with 30 deals. More so, an estimated 1000 brands created endorsement deals with numerous NFL athletes. The leading industries that are growing sponsorships with NFL athletes are emerging from appeal brands and technology companies. Out of these deals, Opensponsorship has worked to bring to life a number of campaigns with NFL athletes. 

NFL Player Sponsorship Case Studies to Inspire Your Own!

Over the last several months, Opensponsorship has been able to work with Walmart and some of the leading NFL stars on apparel campaigns. Sponsorships with Walmart include the likes of: Seattle Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowler Jamal Adams, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, Chicago Bears Quarterback Justin Fields, Eagles Running back Miles Sanders, Cleveland Browns defender Myles Garrett, and 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel amongst others. 

Intel Sponsors NFL star, Rob Gronkowski

During Superbowl 51, Opensponsorship worked to create a campaign with Rob Gronkowski and technology leader Intel. The purpose of the campaign was for Intel to promote users to use their technology to capture videos.

The Bouqs Co. and Tyler Eifert 

Former Pro Bowl Tight End Tyler Eifert teamed up with The Bouqs Co., one of the largest online flower distributors in the U.S. The unique collaboration created a successful campaign for the brand which increased brand awareness in a completely new market.

Sleefs and Bud Dupree NFL Sponsorship Campaign

Sleefs, a modern fashion apparel brand created a successful campaign with Pittsburgh linebacker Bud Dupree. Bud posted a photo to Instagram, telling his followers to go to the Sleefs site to snag a free sleeve or headband. Sleefs gave him his own code to direct his followers to use.

The results were staggering: Sleef’s site traffic increased by a substantial amount, fans of Dupree browsed and purchased way more items on the site, and each user stayed on the site for 91% longer than the average user.

Learn More About How To Work with and Sponsor NFL Athletes

With the NFL season fast approaching, there's never been a better time for your brand to work with an athlete. Sign up today and learn how to get started with an endorsement campaign with NFL athletes to grow your brand!

With Father's Day approaching sooner than we may have expected, we've decided to take some time and look at some of the best father figure athletes on the OpenSponsorship platform.  With over 6,000 athletes on our platform it is hard single out a 'top 10' that are great fathers, especially when we know there are countless other athletes on our platform that are superstar dads.  This list is comprised of those all-star dad's that have no hesitation in showing off their beloved children  on their social media pages for their fanbase and the entire world to see.

As a brand it would be a smart to align your audience and marketing campaign with one of these athletes for a Father's day marketing campaign, promotion, or giveaway post.  As you will see, all of these "athlete-dads" are posting consistently on their social media feed with their adorable children and they are ready and open to collaborating on the OS platform with brands for upcoming campaigns.

1. Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is a professional basketball player in the NBA for the Houston Rockets.  Westbrook is a 9-time NBA All-Star and was the recipient of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the 2016-2017 NBA season.  The Houston Rockets star and his wife Nina Earl have 3 children, 3 year-old Noah Westbrook, and 1 year-old twin sisters Jordyn and Skye.  Westbrook frequently posts adorable pictures of his children to his Instagram, which is boasting a following of 15.3 million.  

You can find Russell on OpenSponsorship here and on Instagram here.

2. Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin III (RG3) is a professional football player in the NFL, that plays quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.  RG3 played college football at Baylor University in 2011 where he won the nationally renowned Heisman Trophy.  RG3 is a dedicated father with 3 daughters, who loves spending time with his girls and posting it on his social media.

You can find Robert on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

3. Devon Still

Devon Still is a former defensive end in the NFL where he played for 5 years for teams including the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, and New York Jets.  Although Still did have an impressive NFL career, it was sadly his daughter Leah's sickness that took over his life full time.  In 2014 while playing in the NFL, Devon Still heard the news that his daughter Leah was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  At that point Still put his whole NFL life on hold to attend to his daughter.  This story went viral as Still shaved his head bald and posted pictures and videos of himself and Leah smiling they're best while battling through the horrible disease.  After being given a 50-50 chance to survive, Leah beat the stage 4 cancer a little over a year later in December 2015.

Back in March 2020 it was announced the Leah has made it to the 5-year mark of being cancer free.

You can find Devon on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

4. Matt Carpenter

Matthew Carpenter is a professional baseball player in the MLB currently playing infield for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Carpenter is always posting on his social media with his kids and wife.  It is apparent that he enjoys spending as much time with them as he can and being the best dad he can.

You can find Matt on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

5. Torrey Smith

Torrey Smith is a former professional football player in the NFL for several teams including the Baltimore Ravens, San Fransisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Carolina Panthers.  Overall Smith played wide receiver in the NFL for 8 years, after he was drafted in 2011 from the University of Maryland.  Now that Smith is retired he has a lot of extra time that he uses to spend with his family and his three adorable kids.

You can find Torrey on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

6. Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes is a retired professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 14 seasons.  After a long career in the NBA, Barnes is now a family man as well as a podcaster for the 'All the Smoke' podcast.  Barnes enjoys spending time with his 3 children (two of which are twins) and his young toddler.

You can find Matt on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

7. Eric Decker

Eric Decker is a former professional football player that played in the NFL for 8 seasons.  After a pretty impressive a 8-year career in the NFL, Eric became a reality TV star with his wife Jessie, on the E! series Eric & Jessie.  The show went on for 4 years and just propelled Eric to more stardom.  Now with the show over Eric has more time to focus totally on his family and three adorable children.  If you take a quick look at his Instagram you can see how much he loves showing them off for the rest of the world to see.

You can find Eric on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

8. Donald Scott

Donald Scott is an American track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump. Scott is a 2017 and 2019 U.S. Indoor Triple Jump Champion and a 2018 U.S. Outdoor Champion.  Scott is also an olympic father when it comes to being a great dad to his daughter Anastasia.  Just check out his Instagram for a flood of pictures of his adorable toddler.

You can find Donald on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

9. Matt Bosher

Matt Bosher is a professional football player who has been a top punter in the league for over 10 years with the Atlanta Falcons.  In addition to being a top punter, Bosher is also an amazing father to his two sons and shows it through his social media.

You can find Matt on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

10. Nathan Stupar

Nathan (Nate) Stupar is a professional football player in the NFL, who has played linebacker in the league fro various teams over since being drafted in 2012.  Nate is very active on his social media and loves connecting with brands that he feels he can believe in and align with.  Nate is also always posting content with his family and children showing how he is a dedicated father in addition to being a NFL player.

You can find Nate on OpenSponsorship here and Instagram here.

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All of these athletes are examples of great fathers and they show the world that you can be a professional athlete and an amazing parent at the same time. 

To learn more about these incredible athletes and several others on the platform, contact an OpenSponsorship representative or send us an email at info@opensponsorship.com.

Professional Sports View on CBD Products

The legalization of CBD in all 50 US states in recent years brought a flood of brands selling different CBD products, and sports sponsorship has been the most popular area for their brands to build awareness and spread information about their product. The 4 major US sports leagues have not yet warmed up to the idea of embracing these brands as partners, but other sports leagues have started to work with them. This includes the BIG3 basketball league, IndyCar racing teams, and active players in the PGA. In addition, retired players in the NBA and NFL have teamed up for great sponsorship deals with CBD brands and these players have started to lobby for CBD products to be allowed for active players to use.

The CBD Industry

More formally known as cannabidiol, CBD is the compound found in cannabis that does not give users the psychoactive effects of marijuana. Trials and experiences from users advocate for CBD as an effective treatment for pain relief. And the numbers certainly support it: a 2019 report from the Brightfield Group projects that the CBD industry could grow to as much as a $23.7 billion industry by the end of 2023.

CBD's Role in Professional Sports

However, with few opportunities available for CBD brands with professional sports franchises, the focus has had to remain on sponsoring the athletes themselves. Several high-profile retired athletes have endorsed these brands, including 16-year vet and BIG3 player Al Harrington (CEO and co-founder of Viola Brands) and NFL star Rob Gronkowski. Both have strongly advocated for the use of CBD, with Gronk raving about the pain relief benefits after 9 surgeries and countless injuries in his NFL career and Harrington saying he was introduced to the idea after seeing how it was able to help his grandmother with her pain and vision problems.

Photo: John Taylor for MG Magazine

How CBD Brands are Utilizing Athletes

CBD brands have seen sports as one of their best outlets for spreading awareness about their product and sharing the benefits that they can provide with a target audience that is relevant to their brand. Ken Cohn, chief marketing officer of cbdMD, said, "Sports are really the perfect way to begin preaching and educating a diverse audience on how CBD, holistically, represents a more natural approach to wellness. With major partners like Bubba (Watson) and the BIG3, we think we're getting the CBD brand and our story in front of millions of people in ways that otherwise we wouldn't be able to accomplish."

Jeff Kwatinetz, the co-founder of BIG3, said the league's deal with cbdMD helps support the league's mission of taking care of their players by allowing them to use CBD products and giving them access through the partnership. For a league full of older former NBA stars, this was an important objective for the league.

CBD Regulation is Professional Sports

Major sports leagues in the US have thrown around the idea of allowing players to use CBD products, with Harrington being one of several players lobbying the NBA to loosen its restrictions. In August of 2017, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters he was "very interested" in learning more about the science behind medical marijuana and was very open to allowing players to use it to recover from injury and ailments. At 2018 All-Star Weekend, Harrington spoke about the benefits of CBD in a small conference, and among those in attendance were players Kyle Lowry and Trevor Ariza, then-Cavaliers coach and former player Tyronn Lue, and executive director of the Players Association Michele Roberts. The NFL has started to explore as well, with the league and players union agreeing to jointly study marijuana as a pain management tool in 2019. In 2019, the NHL Alumni Association,  partnered with Canopy Growth for research on 100 retired players to test the effectiveness of CBD as a treatment for post-concussion neurological disorders.

Several CBD brands have used OpenSponsorship to partner with athletes to help promote their products and discuss the benefits, including Zoho. 

Zohko CBD Products & Alexis Lete Team Up

Zohko teamed up with Alexis Lete to promote their CBD energy drink and share its benefits, with Alexis sharing how it helps her relieve stress and anxiety, and shared a discount code for people to pick up some of their own. And Alexis's followers loved it- the post saw strong engagement with over 9,000 likes.

Medterra, one of the global leaders in the CBD industry, has also worked with athletes through OpenSponsorship. They have a number of sponsorships in the sports industry, including 4-time PGA tour winner Charley Hoffman and a partnership with Worldwide Golf Shops. They use OpenSponsorship to expand their athlete portfolio, including the post below:

A two-time Olympic track and field runner, Nick Symmonds uses Medterra's CBD cream to help relieve his ankle pain that has come as a result of his long-running career. He also included a discount code and several story posts sharing the product with his followers, and the post above racked up over 4,000 likes.

Moving Forward with Marketing CBD with Athletes

Sports fans are the perfect audience to promote CBD products to, and while the major sports leagues are not currently an option, partnering with the athletes themselves is effective as well. To learn more about how you can use OpenSponsorship to promote your CBD products and enhance your marketing strategy, book a free 15-minute call with us today!

What's cooler than sports innovation for athletes? It enables athletes to play harder for their team, be safer while competing and fans can know more about their favorite athletes.

OpenSponsorship is the leading marketplace for sports sponsorship. We are finding ways to connect more of these cool brands to professional athletes. This week we have been focused on finding out who are the coolest companies bringing sports innovation for athletes. We then find ways to make these matches between the brands and pro athletes. We help the sports innovation companies decide who to use, what to do and how to do it (clue: largely social media and content marketing based).

Our friends over at Sportstechie have been a major source of knowledge to understand who is leading the charge in sports innovation for athletes. We have also been referencing the sports brands highlighted by the Sports Technology Awards (quick plug: we were named a finalist in 2015 in the category of Best Technology facilitating commercial returns!).

So how do we do this matchmaking process for these companies who are bringing sports innovation for athletes? Thanks to integrations with IBM Watson and the largest marketplace network of athletes, globally, we are able to find which athletes who are talking about sports innovation; who are already promoting innovative products and even find which athletes get the best engagement on social media when they do promote a sports innovation for athletes.

Our Top 4 Sports Technology Products Which Stood Out As Great Sports Innovation For Athletes And Teams

I/ GuardLab's 3D Printed Mouthguard

Concussions are plaguing sports nowadays and thus this first entry on our 'sports innovation for athletes' list operates in the all-important security space. According to Head Case's website, the number of total concussions doubled from 2002 to 2012. Mouthguards are an integral part of head protection in many sports. Such as rugby, soccer, american football, combat sports and of course martial arts. Lots of players throw their elbows from left to right at head height. It is easily understandable that players want to protect their head, mouth and teeth. 3D printed mouthguards ensure a top-notch fit and thus, protection.

Our idea for this sports innovation, Guardlabs, is to find an athlete that is not happy with their current fit, and design a custom product for the athlete to use. A great before and after shot showing the better fit would be great. Using an MMA fighter who is known to produce great content would be recommended. Someone such as Andre Fili - full disclosure we assume he wears a good mouthguard.

II/ Vicis' Zero 1 Football Helmet

Vicis Zero 1

Football helmets are known to be hard, very hard. Football helmets all feature the same principle: a hard shell coupled with padding inside for comfort and shock absorption. However, Vicis is going in the opposite direction by featuring a soft shell and multiple layers to redistribute the impact over the whole helmet. And thus this helmet is second on our list of best sports innovations for athletes.  Judging by their testing, helmets are much more efficient by absorbing impacts with a soft and adaptive surface. This approach could reduce concussions significantly.

Our idea for this sports innovation, Vicis, is to find an athlete that is known for hard knocks. Such as a Defensive Tackle in the NFL e.g. Cleveland Browns athlete Desmond Bryant.

III/ StatSports' Sensors

StatsSports have been developing sensors which are being used by lots of sports teams across 6 of the most popular sports in the world. Soccer (FC Barcelona, Juventus), rugby (Springboks, Chiefs), football (Panthers, Raiders), hockey, athletics and basketball (Grizzlies, Wizards). These Sensors get into our list of top sports innovations for athletes thanks to the incredible accuracy in measuring many criteria. E.g. for American football - Power, Snap reaction, speed and acceleration at time of first hit. This sports innovation is all about helping performance.

Our idea for StatSports, is to use their sports innovation for athletes, by exemplifying the accuracy of Statsports Sensors over traditional methods. They could have a NFL player do the 40 yard dash and then post it on social media. Fans could guess what the acceleration rate was, and whoever got closest to the StatSports time gets to meet the player. Jeremy Langford, NFL running back for the Chicago bears would be great for this sponsorship.

IV/ Humon Hex

This innovation in sports for athletes focuses on performance and predicting tiredness, by determining Oxygen levels in real-time. This sports innovation also helps athletes know if they are warmed up enough before a workout. Then allows athletes to set limits for a workout and enables athletes to quantify the effort they are putting in.

Our idea for Humon Hex is to use their sports innovation on athletes who have been active on social media talking about oxygen levels and its importance. E.g. recently surfer Luke Davis told his Twitter followers that he was taking "oxygen utilization" supplements.

If you are a brand sign up for free here to access our roster of 2600+ athletes, teams and events. If you are an athlete you can sign up for a free account here. Then, start applying to campaigns posted by our brands! :)

Don’t just reach your target audience, encourage them to engage with your brand. Athlete marketing campaigns are extremely successful. Here’s why:

“Add to Cart”: Studies have shown that followers are 3x more likely to make a purchase from a social media mention made by an athlete. You can stop reading here, if you like :)

Brand Ambassadors: Most athletes don’t need the money from their sponsorship deals; they agree to them because they think the product or service is cool. What better influencer than an actual celebrity consumer with a rabidly loyal fan base?

Not Just for the Boys: Athletes are notorious for spending their millions. They treat themselves, their girlfriends, their families, and their friends. Getting a male athlete to tell his fans how he’s spoiling the important people in his life is a perfect fit for a female-centric brand, too.

It's not as expensive as you think: Engaging athletes can be inexpensive and even free (with OpenSponsorship membership). Athletes love to get free swag and be associated with cool brands. And it's not all just about social - athlete packages starting at $5K include PR quotes, photoshoots, and right to use the image/name on your website and marketing material.

Our favorite campaigns currently:
• Five Four club with NFL & NBA athletes - This up and coming, subscription-based fashion company was founded in 2002 by two USC students. No wonder they have an affinity for professional athletes.
• Orbit Gum & Demarcus Ware - Did we mention athletes can also influence kids? Demarcus and his $1M smile know it, and they're okay with sharing.
• 1-800-Flowers & ESPN Radio - Men encouraging men to buy for their women. It's the perfect match.

Click here for a list of NFL athletes available for contact on OpenSponsorship.

Important note: We're only two weeks away from the start of basketball season, so be sure to check out our almost 100 NBA players!

On our large flat screens on a Sunday, NFL players are viewed as stars that we aspire to be like. We as fans are typically unaware of their personal lives. One way to raise money for foundations and to gain sponsorships is by having local events. Local events allow local brands, businesses, and fans the chance to connect with professional athletes. Previous Pittsburgh Steeler, Chicago Bear and New York Jet Santonio Holmes let his fans in on his personal life. His son has been affected by sickle cell disease. He runs the Santonio Holmes III & Long Foundation to help support research.

While being an active player for the New York Jets, Holmes created a bowling event where local fans had the opportunity to meet Holmes along with other teammates. These fans were given the chance to bowl with amazing athletes while meeting many vendors. I had the opportunity to attend this event and find out more about sickle cell disease and meet many companies looking to sponsor athletes. While at this event there were many opportunities for fans and players to meet companies and spend time bowling for a great cause.

I had the opportunity to speak to most of the athletes on the Jets and all were willing to come out for this cause. I had the chance to meet a few of OpenSponsorship's own athletes such as Dee Milliner and Muhammad Wilkerson just to name a few. Local brands looking to sponsor professional athletes could attend events such as this one to meet and connect with these players. 

           
This is just one example of a professional athlete staying local and getting his community involved. At this event companies were present such as food vendors and apparel companies. Professional athletes could attend more events  such as this one to connect with brands. Brands are encouraged to attend events such as Satonio's to engage with athletes.

Interested in more information? Visit http://www.thirdandlongfoundation.org

1. Gatorade has sponsored the NFL since 1983. The partnership is the longest standing in the NFL.

2. The NFL made $1.2 billion in sponsorships last season (2014-2015). That’s more than any other pro league in North America. The money came from new deals in 2015 with Hyundai and Dannon, as well as standing partnerships with 30 other brands including Pepsi, Verizon, and McDonalds.                                                                                                                                                                   

3.  Odell Beckham Jr. is the most marketable NFL player, according to Sports Pro Media. The 23-year-old is best known for his catch of the year for the 2014-2015 season, as well as his personality-filled social media accounts. He is also the most followed NFL player on Instagram (arguably the best platform to promote products) with 5.2 million followers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbz3DDQzHU

4. Thomas Davis, has more brands sponsoring his charity, Defending Dreams Foundation, than he does himself. He is the most recent winner of the Bart Starr award (given to the NFL player that best exemplifies outstanding leadership and character on the field and in the community).

5. PepsiCo is the NFL’s biggest sponsor, with sponsorship agreements valued “estimated  $100 million a year.” PepsiCo products that sponsor the NFL consist of Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Pepsi, and Quaker Oats.

6. NFL sponsorships are not always exclusive. Although the NFL has official sponsors, competing companies are still free to buy commercial slots during the Super Bowl. So while Pepsi is the official soft drink of the NFL, you’ll still see Coca-Cola ads during the big game. Similarly, individual teams can be sponsored by brands that compete with the NFL’s official sponsors. For example, while Hyundai is the official sponsor of the NFL, Chevrolet sponsors the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32pO1cl_dpU

Bonus:

NFL player to sponsor: Reggie Bush. Independent of his NFL team, he has built a personal brand for himself. He has his own website, which includes a blog with posts written by him. He is active on social media, especially twitter. He is vocal on issues he cares about, and partnered with The Birthday Party Project to “Bring Joy to Homeless Children through the Magic of Birthdays.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGXCoreMnBk/

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3