The Rise of Creators in Pro Sports Leagues

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This week we’re diving into the?opportunity?to?create?your way to the big leagues.

?? Big Idea

Sports creators are changing the way leagues do business.?In just a few years, test campaigns have evolved into creators playing a key role in the marketing charge of leagues to ensure their relevance in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

As creators demonstrate their positive impact on business success at the highest level, I think we'll see an increasing amount of upstart leagues deepen their business relationships and empower creators to become equity owners.

???Why It Matters

Across music, fashion, tech, media, sports and more — creators continue to carve a unique lane in the business & media worlds. In some cases, they are becoming the biggest names in the space — eye to eye with the traditional celebrity or household name .

Let's take basketball for example, what brands comes to mind when you think of the game? They might fall into one of the below categories.

• Major Leagues
• Media Brands
• Apparel Companies
• Sporting Goods
• Players

Now the categories for consideration are expanding to include: YouTubers, TikTokers and Newsletters. For example…

• YouTubers: Jesser is a sports creator that's?dominating the basketball game on YouTube. His YouTube channel has amassed a following of 13.1 million and collaborates with the NBA.
• Newsletters: Kenny Beecham's,?Enjoy Basketball?is a basketball newsletter that has grown it's subscriber base to 45,000+. Since launching in 2022, the brand has already collaborated with the likes of?ICEE for an exclusive merch drop.

Tapping into this new category of brand is increasingly important for legacy sports leagues to maintain relevancy and for upstart leagues to fuel their growth.

???Where Is the Creator Economy in Pro Sports Today?

A few recent examples….

• NWSL: The NWSL signed Adobe as it's official creativity partner. Through the multi-year deal, Adobe will offer brand building workshops to NWSL players and launch a Creator Class to providing emerging content-creators in women's soccer with exclusive opportunities across the league.
• MLS: TikTok announced a multi-year partnership with the MLS. Most interestingly in the deal — they will team up to launch a new Club Creator Network over the course of the partnership. This initiative will pair TikTokers with MLS clubs to create content in and out of season.
• NFL:?In December 2022 the NFL and Google closed a 7 year, $2B dollar partnership to bring NFL Sunday Ticket exclusively to YouTube. For the NFL Draft, YouTube creators with a combined reach of more 145 million subscribers were invited to develop unique content around the experience.
• NCAA March Madness: House of Highlights has made the Creator League a March Madness tradition. As TubeFilter reporter last July, this has been a part of HoH's broader creator strategy that has?tripled its branded content revenue.

???Key Lessons

A few thoughts…

• New Marketing Models: One of my?big predictions?for 2023 was that we would see more sports organizations launch creator “programs and initiatives”. While we have seen leagues integrate creators, the descriptor “programs and initiatives” doesn't accurately represent what's occurring. Leagues are updating their marketing models to adapt to the value of creators in driving fan engagement and awareness amongst younger fan bases.
• Athlete Development Priorities: Professional athletes will have to find ways to adapt winning strategies from creators and their leagues will play an important role in facilitating this. Whether it's targeted education programs (see: NWSL x Adobe) or teaming creators up with teams (see: MLS x TIkTok) it will require a new ecosystem of support for players.
• A?New Type of Athlete: Sports creators are undeniably cementing a new type of athlete. This doesn't take away from the professional athlete as we've know it — it opens a door to a new form of entertainment that we'll see professional athletes embrace more overtime.(Side note: I don't think we'll see a basketball creator beating an NBA draft pick anytime soon)

???Predictions

• Creators Become Owners: The rise of sports creators overlapping with the emergence of new startup leagues suggests a deeper integration between organizations and creators. Player ownership in these upstart leagues has emerged as a model to align incentives between corporations and individuals. Notable examples include the Premiere Lacrosse League and, more recently, TGL. Creators now play a crucial role in marketing, driving new revenue, and enhancing the overall entertainment value for athletes in these leagues. While legacy leagues may have missed this opportunity, there is still potential for new models in upstart leagues to align incentives with key drivers of their growth.
• NIL → Pro Sports Creator:?Last week, I touched on an exciting development that's shaping up in the sports world—the transition of college athletes from NIL superstars to full-time creators. It's fascinating to see how these athletes are channeling their skills into content creation surrounding their sports. This opens up a new avenue for them to pursue their sport at a professional level as a sports creator.

?? Keep?Learning

• NFL CMO on Why Content Creators Are Leading the Leagues Gen Z Strategy
• Creators Are The New Brands
• House of Highlights Triples Branded Content Revenue by Working with Creators

??That’s a Wrap

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• If you’re interesting in advertising with New Game Labs, email me at kirby@newgamelabs.com.?