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A franchise player is defined as the athlete considered the best on their team and is pivotal to the team's brand and future success. In the United States, the phrase 'franchise player' has been in use since at least the 1950s, reflecting how teams and fans alike began to recognize the potential impact of a single standout athlete. The term evolved as franchises turned star athletes into the living faces of teams, leveraging their performance and personalities as a central element in branding strategies. As for influencers, influencer marketing is a more recent phenomenon, defined as a form of social media marketing that involves endorsements and product placements by individuals with dedicated followings online. Influencers are not limited to athletes or celebrities but can include anyone who has cultivated credibility and an engaged audience on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Brands engage these individuals to reach new fans, foster engagement, and shape consumer behavior through what appears as personal testimonials or lifestyle content.
The rise of the franchise player model in professional sports can be traced to the 1950s, when teams in various leagues started identifying and celebrating star athletes as the foundation of both on-field strategy and off-field marketing. By the 1970s, the idea had become increasingly formalized: sports franchises shaped entire team identities, promotional campaigns, and even long-term business decisions around the presence of a dominant franchise player. During this era, athletes like John Elway and George Brett were described in media and by team officials as players around whom a franchise’s hopes could be built. The logic behind this approach was straightforward: a star athlete could generate ticket sales, merchandise revenue, and national media attention, providing tangible value far beyond their statistical contributions on the field.
This model also impacted how fans formed attachments to teams. Loyal fan communities often centered their emotional investment on the charisma, legacy, or story of a franchise player, which, in turn, reinforced the team’s brand. As sports organizations noticed the economic and cultural power of these individual athletes, they began structuring contracts, media appearances, and even stadium events to maximize the visibility and marketability of their franchise players.
Fast forward to the 21st century, sports franchises began extending their reach beyond traditional media, embracing the rise of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing uses individuals who have cultivated large and loyal followings on social media to promote products, shape public opinion, and drive engagement around brands—including sports teams. This new strategy emerged alongside the popularity of platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, where influencers could create personalized, interactive content that resonated with their audiences.
Sports franchises have increasingly used influencer marketing to reach younger demographics, craft narratives that go beyond the game, and build a sense of community among fans. For example, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, co-founded by Brandon Landry, achieved significant growth partly by leveraging partnerships with athletes and maintaining an authentic sports connection. By 2012, the brand was named the "Best Sports Bar in North America" by ESPN, reflecting the power of strategic influencer engagement in shaping public perception and driving commercial success. Influencers can be athletes, but they are often everyday fans, commentators, or lifestyle personalities who connect with followers on a more personal, relatable level.
Influencer marketing in sports harnesses credibility, authenticity, and trust. When influencers share their genuine experiences with a franchise—whether through behind-the-scenes content, live reactions to games, or product endorsements—they create a sense of authenticity that traditional advertising often lacks. The Federal Trade Commission began enforcing disclosure rules for sponsored content in 2016, pushing for greater transparency. This shift led to higher fan engagement, as audiences appreciated honesty about commercial relationships. Influencers who are perceived as relatable and trustworthy can have a more profound effect on purchasing decisions and brand loyalty than even the franchise players themselves.
Social media has become a battleground for influence in sports, with both official franchise messaging and influencer-driven narratives vying for fan attention. While teams still control their own accounts and disseminate carefully crafted communications, influencers amplify, reshape, or sometimes challenge these messages, adding layers of interpretation and emotion. In recent years, this dual influence has grown stronger: both franchise players and independent influencers play critical roles in shaping fan loyalty and franchise branding.
One example of this dynamic is Project FANchise, a sports-tech startup that, in 2016, purchased an Indoor Football League team and implemented a fan-driven management model. Through this initiative, fans were empowered to make key decisions such as hiring coaches and calling plays, essentially turning the fan community into both influencer and participant. This move exemplified how digital platforms allow fans to become co-creators in the franchise narrative, blurring the lines between official messaging and grassroots influence.
The scale of social media’s impact is tangible. Globally, 86% of brands planned to use influencer marketing strategies in 2024, recognizing its capacity for driving both engagement and revenue. Influencer content is often measured by earned media value, impressions, and cost per action, reflecting how digital interactions can be tracked and optimized for business results. For fans, the opportunity to interact directly with franchise players or influencers—commenting on posts, joining live streams, or sharing content—creates a sense of connection and loyalty that is both immediate and enduring.
Measuring and sustaining fan loyalty has grown more complex in this environment. Fan loyalty is shaped by a mix of community, brand association, and individual motivations. For sports franchises, loyalty is not just about winning records; it’s about forging an emotional connection between the team and its supporters. Psychological research identifies several factors that drive fan loyalty: entertainment value, authenticity, team history, group affiliation, and personal identification with players or influencers. For example, the Chicago Cubs maintained a loyal fan base for decades, even during long periods without championship success, because of deep communal ties and nostalgic memories.
Franchises and marketers use various indices to gauge fan loyalty. A Fan Loyalty Index, for instance, surveyed Major League Baseball fans to rank teams, with the Chicago Cubs scoring a loyalty index of 132 and the Chicago White Sox at 73, where the mean was 100. These measurements help franchises identify and nurture their core supporters, while also identifying so-called 'fairweather fans'—those whose allegiance is conditional on the team’s success. In practice, franchises implement loyalty programs, exclusive content, and interactive social media campaigns to keep fans engaged regardless of on-field performance.
The influence of social media is especially pronounced in how threats to fan loyalty are managed. Negative publicity, poor team performance, or abrupt changes in franchise identity can undermine years of carefully built loyalty. For example, when franchise players are traded or retire, or when influencer partnerships backfire due to inauthenticity, fan trust can erode quickly. Conversely, well-executed influencer campaigns and transparent communications can bolster loyalty even in challenging periods.
Stu Sternberg’s tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2005 to 2025 is an example of franchise leadership leveraging both analytics and narrative storytelling for sustained success. Under his ownership, the team moved from perennial underperformance to multiple World Series appearances and division titles, relying not only on visible talent but also on hidden factors such as team culture and communication. His cost-effective strategies and focus on organizational alignment illustrate that unseen influencers—whether they are behind-the-scenes executives, data analysts, or digital communities—can be just as crucial to franchise success as players or influencers in the public eye.
In 2016, Project FANchise’s experiment with a fan-run sports team offered a radical example of how digital engagement can shift the power dynamic. By allowing fans to make operational decisions, the project highlighted the potential for influencers within the fan community to have a direct and lasting impact on the franchise’s direction.
Not every factor influencing sports franchise success is visible. Research from 2026 highlights that randomness and chance play a major role in athletic outcomes, sometimes outweighing even talent or hard work. Hidden organizational frictions—such as interpersonal conflicts or misaligned values—can also undermine performance despite the roster’s visible talents. In football, factors like delayed team synchronization or diffused leadership can significantly alter a club’s fortunes, often escaping notice in traditional analyses.
A significant portion of Gen Z Americans now view being an influencer as a reputable career choice, and 76% of US teens in a 2023 survey reported interest in becoming entrepreneurs, many citing influencers as key inspiration. This cultural shift suggests that the boundary between fan, influencer, and franchise player continues to blur, and that unseen influencers—whether individuals or collective fan communities—play an increasingly central role in shaping the future of sports franchises.