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There’s a fierce battle raging in the sporting world – and it’s not happening on the field. It’s a battle for engagement, for growth, for a new generation of fans. With the global sports market estimated to be worth more than $2 trillion USD, teams, leagues and governing bodies are looking outside their traditional markets to attract audiences and get themselves a bigger share. And, increasingly, they’re enlisting the help of social media sports influencers to do it.
So how exactly is the sporting world harnessing influencer culture for themselves? And is the idea more of a home run or a strike out? With the help of Deakin’s lecturer in communication and sports media, Kasey Symons, let’s find out.
If you’ve ever seen someone with a big following spruiking new makeup products or a day at the tennis on your Instagram feed, it might be because they’re getting paid to promote it. As Symons explains, this is what influencer culture is all about.
‘What we’re referring to generally when we speak of influencer culture is the rise of independent content creators and freelance media makers using their own profile and social media audience that they have built and curated to promote brands, products, events and/or services,’ says Symons. ‘Sometimes, these can be products. that the creator themselves loves, and they want to promote based on how it reflects the creator’s own personal identity, but increasingly, content creators are for sale and sought out by brands to connect to different audiences.’
One of the main reasons that brands and businesses turn to influencers is to harness the established, intimate relationship they have with their followers. There’s trust there – and sometimes a parasocial relationship – that can make audiences more open to the marketing side of influencing, and that can be important when it comes to selling something like sports —especially to new audiences.
What do YouTuber MrBeast, Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, and social media content creator Mark Phillips have to do with sports?
Traditionally – not much. But, as some of the most-viewed internet celebrities of all time (MrBeast and Cenat hold the records for YouTube and Twitch subscriber numbers, respectively), the famous trio are just a handful of the non-traditional names being used to promote and influence sports on their own channels to their own audiences. They’re influencers and this means that they have massive influence over their viewers.
As Symons explains, we’re seeing these sorts of stunts more and more in sports influencer marketing, as stakeholders look beyond rusted-on sports fans to potential new audiences. If you were paying attention to the 2026 Australian Open, you might have seen it happening there, too.
‘The Australian Open is a strong example of this, where influencers have showcased the AO precinct where their fans can follow fashion trends, the music and entertainment aspects of the tournament, the food culture and more,’ she says. ‘This is powerful marketing because it shows non-traditional sports fans that there might be something else they are interested in in a sporting environment and that creates an entry point.’
As Symons mentioned, there are the influencers who specialise in fashion, music and culture and may use these avenues to draw their audiences into sports, but many sports influencers are focused entirely on the sports themselves. The attraction and engagement here comes from taking a unique approach to sports analysis or coverage – sometimes through influencer podcasts, blogs or other left-field, sports-focused media that traditional organisations don’t use.
‘This can be through a more comedic approach, a conversational tone, being really biased like most fans are, and using more relatable pop culture trends for certain demographics,’ Symons says. ‘Some sports see the benefit in partnering with these creators to widen their reach and target new audiences that they can’t with their more traditional content and distribution channels.’
Sports influencer marketing essentially works by breaking down a barrier between the coverage of sport and the viewer. Unlike the commentators, media pundits, players and courtside celebrities, influencers feel ‘real’ and relatable. And it’s this relatability that makes influencer culture an effective marketing tool, according to Symons.
‘The general appeal of influencers has been that they represent the everyday person and are somewhat relatable,’ she says. ‘Even if they are in some of the most exclusive sporting spaces in the world, they make us feel like we could be too.’
For sports organisations, this can be a powerful marketing tool that goes beyond the traditional media influence on sport.
‘In a sports context, they represent the fan,’ Symons says. ‘This can drive really powerful fan connection and some influencers have built significant audiences based on how they present elements of authenticity in their content. While this might be very strategic, this sense of intimacy is something sports organisations can’t quite achieve as they need to carefully manage their own brand and while they can be fun on social media, they have limitations.’
According to one recent study, this approach can be very effective – to the point of potentially changing the relationship between sports and media marketing. According to the study’s authors: ‘A paradigmatic shift is underway in the sport–media nexus, wherein content untethered from elite athleticism can generate immense audiences and commercial outcomes by privileging personality, virality and platform-native entertainment.’
In an ideal world, attracting non-traditional fans to sports would be a great way to promote cultural diversity. The Australian Government certainly thinks so, considering cultural diversity in sport to be beneficial in breaking down stereotypes and building social cohesion. As Symons explains, though, it’s ultimately up to the teams and governing bodies themselves to prioritise diversity, however they choose to market, and using sports influencers doesn’t guarantee diversity.
‘Just because influencers can offer a different and diverse way to produce content, doesn’t mean that using influencers makes your content, brand or organisation diverse,’ she says. ‘Sports should be very conscious of the voices they are amplifying and what content they are making visible as it signals to an audience what your values are. If your content is all about corporate branding, exclusive and expensive experiences, and only offers one perspective, then diverse audiences won’t connect and won’t find your sport accessible.’
As sporting bodies recognise the benefits of influencer culture for growing fan engagement in sports, the relationship is likely to keep evolving. As Symons suggests, the untethered independence of sports influencers has become part of the appeal – but it may not last forever.
‘I think we’ll see more independent content creators connecting with sport as the sports media model continues to react to the fast-changing media industry,’ says Symons. ‘This means outsourcing of content production will be appealing to sport, but sport will look to have some control over the content being created as influencers become more like brand ambassadors. So, will that impact the content, and the connection audiences have with influencers that has been based on relatability and authenticity? I think we’ll be in for an interesting time as these two styles try to work together!’
Whatever the future of sports influencers may be, at least we can be sure that the off-field action will be as worth watching as the sports themselves.
Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University
