Written by Sam Eccleston, YouTube & Creator Economy Recruiter at SUMO
There was a time when an athlete’s retirement plan was fairly predictable. Buy a pub. Do the occasional club appearance in your local student bar. Disappear for a few years…close said pub. Re-surface every now and then in a soda advert.
Those days are long gone.
Today’s athletes are building their second careers long before they stop competing professionally, usually through digital content.
Athletes like Joe Marler are taking a leaf out of the creator playbook and building audiences, launching media projects, developing IP and creating businesses that can outlive their sporting careers. This is the evolution of Beckham firmly planting himself in fashion advertising before retiring.
Why this is happening now
The most obvious change is control. For decades, athletes have relied on broadcasters and rights holders to tell their stories. Access was limited, narratives were filtered and visibility was decided by schedules and editors.
Social platforms have completely changed that balance. Athletes can now speak directly to fans at scale on their own terms – which is exactly what Mo Farah had in mind when launching his new “Run With Mo” podcast in January. That direct line is powerful, both culturally and commercially.
Careers in sport are still relatively short. Injuries happen, form drops, contracts end etc. However audiences, when built properly can last for decades. It’s completely changed how athletes think about their future and reach.
There’s also a wider cultural movement as fans no longer want polished media appearances. They want access, context and personality. They want to understand the person, not just the performance. What else are they doing? How did they get there? What do they REALLY think?
Attention first, sport second
Audience quality over quantity is the big one here. Big numbers still matter but it’s not the whole picture. What really matters is consistent audiences who return, engage and pay attention.
Long-form formats in particular are critical to this. Podcasts and long-form give athletes space to be human and relatable. They allow for nuance, humour and authenticity in a way highlight clips can’t because of broadcaster restriction.
That peak behind the curtain unlocks some tangible commercial opportunity. Loyal audiences buy tickets, merch and turn up to live events. They follow athletes long after retirement. Just look at the likes of Peter Crouch, Andy Roddick, or Tony Bellew.
As with any high-reward opportunity, there is some risk to factor in.
We spoke to Moises Valor at Futcrunch, who explained the biggest mistake athletes make when building a presence online is chasing short-term brand deals at the expense of long-term trust.
“Athletes should avoid partnering with too many brands that don’t align with where they want to go after their professional career ends. When the athlete and the brand stop providing value to each other, it starts to feel like content exists only to sell a product. Over time, that erodes trust and followers begin to disengage.”
Moises Valor, COO at Fatcrunch
Visibility is super important for audience-building, but so is credibility. Credibility compounds slowly but can disappear much faster.
Five sports channels we’re loving right now
These five channels show what happens when sport content is purpose built with audience ownership and longevity in mind. If you get content strategy right, attention becomes trust and trust becomes community.
Here are a few we’ve been keeping our eye on!
- The Good, The Bad and The Rugby – Hosted by former professional rugby players James Haskell and Mike Tindall alongside broadcaster Alex Payne, offering an honest, insider view of professional rugby.
- FutCrunch – Led by Creator Santiago Vázquez and Moises Valor, this social-first football platform is breaking ground by reaching sports fans outside of traditional broadcast audiences.
- The Rugby Pod – This long-running rugby podcast hosted by former England internationals Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton is full of authentic conversation and a genuine friendship.
- NEI – A football culture platform built around a team of charismatic creators and contributors, covering sport, lifestyle and creator culture that has developed a loyal fanbase through their quality content.
- Hashtag United – Founded by YouTuber Spencer Owen and led by Seb Carmichael-Brown, this community-driven football club and media brand combines competitive football, content and community under one roof.
What this does for sport
When athletes build audiences, the sport also benefits. Social content repositions the barrier to entry and explains the game. It humanises athletes and brings in younger and more diverse audiences who might never have engaged through traditional coverage. A great example is what the team are doing over at Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips.
This is especially visible in women’s football, endurance sports, fitness and newer formats like padel or Hyrox. These communities are often built digitally first before mainstream media catches up.
The result is sport that feels more open, more community-led and more culturally accessable.
Beyond the game
When athletes get their content strategy right, the opportunities extend far beyond sponsorship posts.
Live events, ticketed shows, merchandise, podcasts, production companies and long-term brand partnerships all become viable revenue streams. Social platforms are not the product themselves, they are the distribution layer that makes everything else possible.
Athletes are no longer waiting until retirement to think about what comes next, they’re building it now.
And hey… if they still fancy taking on the often-unglamorous task of opening a pub (go watch Clarkson’s Farm!) then these platforms give them the financial stability to do exactly that.
