Fashion and sports have long been intertwined, with top athletes sitting front row at runway shows, being tapped as brand ambassadors and setting trends with their style.
In the last year that connection has only increased, particularly among male athletes, who are increasingly showing their star power and style influence and who may now have bigger impacts for fashion brands than other public figures.
“I don’t think that the male consumer is just now realizing the athlete is sort of like a fashion icon. I think it’s the fashion world just now seeing the athlete as a fashion icon,” said fashion stylist Courtney Mays, who works with NBA players like Chris Paul, Kevin Love and others. “I often say, men aren’t necessarily watching the Oscars to see what the next best tuxedo to purchase is, but they are definitely watching the games that night. It’s cool that now the tunnel walk kind of gives this window into athletes’ personal style sensibility and therefore their personality.”
There was more attention than ever given to athletes’ style in 2023, with the NBA tunnel still as widely watched as the basketball games themselves; the NFL tunnel becoming a highly anticipated part of football games — thanks in part to players like Taylor Swift beau Travis Kelce, Joe Burrow and others — and Formula 1’s continued growth globally and the increasing number of brands that take part in the circuit.
Fashion brands furthered their presence in the sports world with new ambassadors and initiatives, such as Puma revealing its F1 collection designed by creative director A$AP Rocky; Louis Vuitton signing tennis champion Carlos Alcaraz, fencer Enzo Lefort and swimmer Léon Marchand as ambassadors, and Tumi continuing its partnerships with F1 driver Lando Norris and Tottenham soccer player Son Heung-min, among many others.
For many of these brands, these ambassadorships are becoming some of their most lucrative partnerships due to their expansive influence and reach.
According to data from Launchmetrics, many of the top-performing male athletes of 2023 brought in higher levels of media impact value, which is the data and insights company’s proprietary metric that totals the paid, owned and earned media across social media platforms, in comparison to male musicians or actors.
Launchmetrics’ data shows that soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo led the ranking for top-performing male athletes in the first half of 2023, with each generating $1.8 million in media impact value. This compares to the company’s list of top-performing male actors, which saw Zac Efron and Tom Holland in the first and second spots with $1 million each in media impact value. Messi and Ronaldo’s earnings were also higher than the top-performing male musicians, which had K-pop group BTS’s V in the top spot with $1.4 million in media impact value, followed by Justin Bieber with $1.1 million in media impact value.
This reign of male athletes and their star power was also seen at the bottom of each list’s ranking, with David Beckham in the 10th spot with $504,300 in media impact value, compared to musician Chris Brown with $337,400 in media impact value and actor Leonardo DiCaprio with $205,900 in media impact value.
“I do think the public is recognizing the influence that male athletes are having in the fashion space,” said Kyle Smith, the NFL’s fashion content strategist. “A big part of that is with our athletes, we get to watch them in their greatest moments — when they’re winning and when they’re losing and how they act in the face of adversity. That allows for such a compelling, storytelling moment with our athletes that lets fans really connect with them and so it gives the opportunity to let our players speak and tell their stories.”
Several factors have helped boost athletes’ influence, mainly their widespread appeal among fans, who are drawn in not only by their athleticism but also by their personalities, which subsequently has shined a light on their respective styles.
This widespread appeal has in turn allowed for fashion brands to reach larger audiences by working with athletes across sports. For instance, in 2023 men’s brand Psycho Bunny made a push into the sports world by naming F1 presenter Will Buxton a brand ambassador and has plans to enter golf and tennis in major ways this year, which are all part of the brand’s goal of expanding internationally.
“Athletes are seen a lot of times as credible and trustworthy individuals,” said Eddie Capobianco, vice president of influencer marketing at the NFL. “That could be mainly due to their dedication, their discipline and their success in their respective sports. We talk a lot about relatability and how a lot of athletes are relatable figures who often come from diverse backgrounds and have overcome challenges to achieve their success. Their stories and journeys all resonate with consumers and make them more inclined to support and engage in brands that athletes endorse.”
This relatability is one of the reasons why athletes have made for natural brand ambassadors for fashion labels, which are looking for representatives who embody their values in an authentic way.
“I would say not so much that they’re stylish for Tumi, but more that their multifaceted lifestyle has helped them become icons,” said Jill Krizelman, Tumi’s senior vice president of global marketing and e-commerce, of the brand’s two sports ambassadors. “They are bringing athleticism and fashion together. What’s initially driven us to them is really their commonalities to our brand in terms of this kind of relentless pursuance for excellence and the constant determination — this idea of people who are constantly on the road and traveling as part of their career.”
Diversity also plays a large factor in athletes’ appeal. While industries like Hollywood have long been criticized for their lack of inclusivity, sports leagues like the NFL and NBA have championed diversity, both in terms of race and body types.
“The NBA is prominently Black male,” Mays said. “The fashion world has had a really difficult time accepting Black male celebrities and there’s definitely a huge gap between what they may offer to ‘insert whatever A-list white male celebrity’ versus minority celebrities. Athletes have kind of been at the bottom of the totem pole for that. And, also, the fear of size. If you hear basketball player, you instantly think somebody who’s seven feet tall, but I think there’s such a diversity in body types. There are so many different bodies in this world, why not show the clothes on everybody?”
The number of games and public appearances athletes make each season gives them ample opportunities to show off and experiment with their style. For the NBA, each team plays roughly 82 games a season, with players like Kyle Kuzma, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Russell Westbrook and many others showing off their fits from luxury and streetwear labels. The NFL’s 17-game regular season has offered similar style opportunities, with the likes of Kelce, Burrow, Deebo Samuel, Jalen Hurts and others making waves for their pre-game looks.
“Every Sunday, every game day, is our red carpet,” Smith said. “Our tunnel entrances and those player arrivals have the same effect and weight that red carpets do in the fashion industry. It’s an opportunity for representatives of brands to wear clothing, express themselves and, the thing that I love about our player arrivals, is that it’s every Sunday and we know to expect it every Sunday. It’s basically a fashion show every Sunday.”
Athletes’ style influence isn’t expected to slow this year. With tentpole events like the Super Bowl in February, the Euro 2024 soccer championship in June and the Paris Summer Olympics in July, it’s only a matter of time before more fashion brands get in on the action.
