Not only do the social media channels give sports stars a chance to reach out to their fan base but it is also a great opportunity to make money.
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Thanks to social media, there are many ways for fans to connect with sports stars. Using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), sports stars can have an influence on the daily lives of fans via their social feed.
Not only do the social media channels give sports stars a chance to reach out to their fan base but it is also a great opportunity to make money. Brands will pay sports stars huge sums of money to promote their products on their social media accounts and below, you can find out more about the biggest sports influencers of the last decade.
At the time of writing, Cristiano Ronaldo has 603 million followers on Instagram, which is an incredible number of people.
In fact, it is almost double the population of the United States, which shows just how popular the Portuguese footballer has become during his long career on the soccer pitch. Ronaldo has worked with many companies over the years to promote their products and it is believed he can make over $2 million per post, which is a staggering amount of money for one social media post.
Previous paid partnerships include clothing, food, drink, finance, NFTs, fragrances, and poker. Ronaldo signed a deal with PokerStars and revealed his passion for playing the casino game in a video that has had over 500,000 views. If you want to step into the shoes of Ronaldo and play online casino games, we recommend using the best casino apps for iPhone.
LeBron James is one of the most influential people in the history of basketball. The American has over 150 million followers on Instagram alone and is one of the highest paid sports influencers in the United States.
In addition to posts from the basketball court, James shows images from his daily life, including his family and lifestyle off the court. James has led the way for other athletes in terms of business and how they can create their own brand. James has created his own film and television company and is often promoting products on his social media accounts, including drinks, footwear, and skincare products.
Serena Williams may be retired from professional tennis but there is no doubt she is one of the biggest sports influencers of the last decade. At the time of writing, Williams has 16.9 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 million followers on TikTok. Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, winning 23 grand slam women’s single titles, the most in the open era.
In 2016 Williams was the world’s highest paid female athlete, earning over $28 million and some of that money came from her social media influence. In 2017, Williams was the only female in the Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, further underlining her position as one of the biggest sports influencers of the last decade.
Virat Kohli may not be as well known outside his own sport as the other sports stars on this page but he has close to 260 million followers on Instagram alone.
Kohli is an Indian cricketer and with a population of over 1.4 billion people, many of his fans and followers reside in his own country. Kohli could not walk down the street in any city, town, or village in India without being recognised by fans, such is his popularity in the country.
Kohli also has a big following from the worldwide cricketing community and is often promoting brands on his Instagram account. In 2016, Kohli was ranked as one of the most valuable athlete brands by Forbes and one of the world’s most famous athletes by ESPN. Kohli made over $26 million in 2020, placing him inside the top 70 of the Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world.
Some of the other biggest sports influencers of the last decade include Lionel Messi, Lewis Hamilton, Odell Beckham, Neymar Jr, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Jake Paul, and Rahmel Dockery. They each have a huge following on social media and just one product post can bring in huge sums of money for both the athlete and the promoted brand, such is their influence on fans.
