The changing rules of athlete partnerships

I had the serendipitous delight of bumping into Mary Earps MBE on the train home this week and in the light of the “Sweeney effect” this week it made me think about what are the changing dynamics that are affect how brands, rights holders and athletes themselves think about the partnerships they create.

Undoubtedly, the role of the athlete in building fandom and creating new commercial outcomes is increasing and we are spending more and more time across our client base developing concepts and programmes.

Let’s start with the former England goalkeeper, now at London City Lionesses, who had just been to an Apple event and was delighted with her new iPhone 18.

It struck me as a smart connection. Put new technology into the hands of someone with Mary's profile and significant following and you give them something useful, with the possibility that their experience becomes part of what they share with their audience. If any of you don’t follow her on Instagram then you really should – this is someone with an authentic personality who is highly engaging and personable.

Product gifting has been around for years. Social media gives it a ready route to an audience: if an athlete chooses to share how they use something, everyday use can become a form of endorsement. I don't know the terms of Mary's relationship with Apple, but the encounter made me think about how these relationships are changing.

When we chose Jess Ennis as a face of Olay ahead of London 2012, two criteria mattered: her skin and her prospects of sporting success. P&G was an IOC partner, and we needed to make that relationship human and relevant to someone buying skincare.

Skin quality was a practical consideration for Olay. We were also, unashamedly, hoping to back a winner. Jess delivered heptathlon gold, but her value to us came through her visibility and recognisability in store, in print and on television. Winning helped; the brand had a use for her recognition well before the medal ceremony and in hindsight that relationship could have continued way beyond London but didn’t.

I'd give much more weight today to how an athlete communicates, why people follow them and what they want a partnership to say about them. Working with Jenson Button at Hilton, players at The FA and ECB, and now Harry Brook at HiTZ Cricket has given me different perspectives on that decision. A conversation about Weetabix's All Stars this week brought those questions back into focus too.

Our choice of Harry at HiTZ is a useful example. His ability and performances are obvious attractions. But what particularly resonated with us was his backstory: the commitment to improvement, the hours of practice and the continual honing of his craft. HiTZ is about helping people achieve their potential. That connection gives us a story that holds beyond the next innings.

That is what I mean by a fit at the level of a business's DNA. The connection runs through what it exists to do and how the athlete approaches their own work. It gives both sides something they can keep developing over time.

Brands still bring budgets and opportunities. Athletes with an engaged audience bring their own distribution and more scope to choose whose message they carry. That power isn't equal for every athlete, but selection increasingly needs to work in both directions. The athlete's question matters as much as the brand's: does this relationship fit who I am and what I want to build?

The athlete can now help build the business

On Friday this week, On announced its move into football alongside Kylian Mbappé. Its announcement describes him working directly with product teams to develop and test footwear and apparel. Thierry Henry has joined as Director of Football.

Reporting also describes Mbappé's agreement as including cash and equity, although the size of his stake has not been disclosed. That creates a financial interest in the business's future alongside his ambassador role.

Athlete ownership has a history: Michael Jordan is potentially the “OG” of this but On have obvious form too with Roger Federer who became an On co-owner in 2019, with involvement in product development and marketing.

Ownership can strengthen long-term commitment. Its credibility comes from what the athlete actually contributes. It can also give an athlete more influence over the product and the story. The useful test is whether both sides can explain the relationship in terms that go beyond its commercial rewards.

With that in mind, here are five considerations from each side of the relationship: athletes, brands and governing bodies.

Five considerations for athletes

1. Decide what you want your partnerships to say about you

Start with your interests, outlook and ambitions. Which brands belong naturally in that picture? Consider whether you could explain the connection in your own words, and whether it would still make sense after your competitive career. A lucrative offer deserves the same scrutiny as an exciting sporting opportunity.

2. Try the product and understand the business

Personal use gives you something credible to talk about. Take time to understand how the company behaves as well as what it sells. Ask whether its actions support the values you would be associating yourself with. Shared language in a pitch deck is only a starting point. Having Harry in our HiTZ nets early in the process was a key part of how the relationship formed.

3. Keep a meaningful say in the work

Discuss the story, creative input and how your image and content will be used. Be realistic about what you enjoy making and what fits around training. Your own channels are a relationship with people who chose to follow you. Think carefully about how often you want to introduce commercial messages into that relationship. A brand test here is would the Athlete make content that might fit your brand without your input? Stuart Rowson has been supporting athletes develop their social media skills to enable this and this forms a big part of our shared work.

4. Choose the reward to suit the contribution

Fees provide income; equity ties some of your reward to an uncertain future outcome. Consider the time, influence and risk involved, with independent advice. Ownership is most convincing when there is something you want to help build. A straightforward paid partnership can be just as sincere.

5. Define success for yourself as well as the sponsor

Income matters. So might better equipment, creative experience, new connections or a business that continues after retirement. Agree what you want from the relationship and review whether the workload and audience response support those goals. A renewal should work for your career and reputation as well as the brand's numbers.

Five considerations for brands

1. Define the job before discussing the name

Do you need attention among a particular audience, greater trust in a product, retail visibility or a reason for someone to try something new? Each requires a different contribution and potentially a different model.

For Olay, the product connection and visibility mattered. At HiTZ, Harry's commitment to practice should help explain our offer and encourage people to work on their own game. Write down the desired customer response before drawing up the shortlist, then test whether an athlete is the right way to achieve it.

2. Test the connection from the audience's perspective

An athlete can be admired without being relevant to a buying decision. Look for a connection rooted in the purpose of the business and the athlete's actual interests or behaviour. Ask why they would choose you. Their answer will tell you more about the potential for a lasting relationship than a generic claim about shared values.

The creative treatment matters too. Ignoring the Sweeney ad for now, I’ve seen too many ads featuring female athletes that are just really poor in my opinion. Slapping an athlete next to your product on a poster is unlikely to really move the needle.

3. Look at how they communicate and fund the work

Watch their own content. Read the comments. Understand who responds and what they respond to. A follower total tells you little about an athlete's ability or willingness to explain your product.

Give them room to shape the idea and establish a realistic plan for production, distribution and their time. Budget for that work alongside the fee. Access to an athlete's social channels doesn't guarantee reach or attention; content still has to earn its place. The delivery model should suit the person and their audience.

4. Build a relationship that survives the sporting result

Hellmann's signed Jack Grealish for its Euro 2024 campaign; he subsequently missed England's squad. That illustrates selection risk, rather than proving the campaign failed. Would your idea still work if your athlete was injured, omitted or out of form? There were a few similar cases this summer – even for the might of Nike who you would think would get this “right” more often than not.

Consider the commercial model with the same care. A fee, royalties or equity can reward different contributions. Ownership may make sense where there is a sustained role in building the business. Be specific about that role and remember that equity has a cost, even when it reduces the immediate cash payment.

5. Agree how you will know it worked

Measure the job you hired the athlete to do. Recognition calls for target-audience awareness and brand recall. Credibility calls for changes in the relevant belief. Trial calls for first purchases or bookings, with repeat behaviour telling you more about lasting value.

Set a baseline and include the full cost of activation. Use comparison groups or markets where practical. Tracked links and codes help, but won't capture every effect. Equally, total campaign sales can't all be credited to the athlete. Decide what evidence would justify renewal before the announcement goes out.

Five considerations for governing bodies

1. Decide what athlete visibility should do for the sport

A medal and a surge in followers are opportunities. What should happen next: more people trying the sport, attending events, joining clubs or becoming interested in a partner?

Choose the outcome and prepare the next step. Someone inspired by an athlete needs an accessible session to book, a useful introduction to the sport or a reason to stay connected. Make that journey work while their interest is high.

2. Help athletes develop a voice they want to use

Offer practical support with filming, storytelling and handling audience interaction. Let athletes choose the subjects and formats they are comfortable with. Their sporting career remains the priority.

Some will love making content; others will contribute through interviews, demonstrations or appearances. Support should help them express themselves and build lasting opportunities. Constant availability on social media should never become an assumed obligation. Working with them and their agent (if they have one) is key to this and often the way to help translate the “corporate” goals into something that is motivating for the athlete.

3. Give partners a clear way to work with athletes

Build propositions around what a partner needs to achieve, then work out the appropriate access. A coaching demonstration, retailer event and personal product story require different preparation and involvement.

Be clear about the access the governing body can offer and what requires separate agreement with the athlete. Their personal channels are not automatically part of the package. Plan around training and competition, respect personal partnerships, and involve athletes early enough for them to improve the idea and decide whether it fits.

4. Plan for athletes who are also business owners

An athlete may have ambitions to invest, develop products or launch a business. Governing bodies should understand those ambitions and where they might complement or conflict with the sport's partnerships.

Discuss the boundaries early. Ownership can create deeper shared interests, but doesn't remove competing commitments. Help athletes obtain independent advice and avoid assuming that their commercial activity must always sit inside the governing body's programme. A relationship that works for the athlete is more likely to endure.

5. Measure what the sport gains and build beyond one star

Connect athlete activity to the objective: completed introductory sessions, repeat participation, ticket purchases, engaged new contacts or partner renewals. Review what happened after the initial burst of attention and distinguish association from evidence of additional impact.

Develop a range of athlete stories so the sport can reach different people and cope with injury, retirement or non-selection. The biggest name may introduce someone to the sport; another athlete may be the person who makes them feel they belong.

The best test I can think of is whether the athlete and the brand can each explain, in their own words, why they chose the other. Then comes the work of making that connection useful and measuring what it achieves.

If you have any tips that you think would be useful to share then please feel free to share and if this is area for further discussion then please get in touch...

Russell James

Founder of Bazballers. Formerly Marketing Director at The FA, Sales and Marketing Director at the ECB, and ten years at P&G.

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