Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Ratings and Research

How NFL prospects use social media

With the NFL draft coming up this week, many of the top prospects are taking a look at their social media personas to make themselves more attractive to future NFL employers and marketing partners, according to a study conducted by Turnkey Intelligence on behalf of Sports Business Journal.

Turnkey reviewed the public social media accounts of 100 of the top NFL draft prospects to see how socially engaged each player has been; if inappropriate content or language was seen on his public profile; if he publicly engaged in controversial issues or shared political opinions; whether he talked about an NFL team or not; and if he had taken steps to clean up his accounts over the past few months.

Every prospect had at least one social media account.

The real deal

Although access to the accounts of a player often requires his permission, Turnkey reported that many times their analysts were easily granted such access simply by making a request through the player’s social media page.

To receive a blue verification badge from Facebook, for example, account holders must provide the site a photo ID, an explanation as to why they should be verified, and relevant URL(s) that prove people are interested in their content.

“Obtaining verified status on social media platforms is a social media insurance policy for athletes, as it prevents fraud, protects the athlete’s reputation, and eliminates any chance of an unnecessary PR issue for a team,” said Rich Calabrese, Turnkey executive vice president and general manager, who oversaw the project.

 

How often the prospects posted to their social media accounts

 

Delete that post

Fifty-six percent of the prospects deleted at least one old post. 

The top 50 prospects are more likely to have performed social maintenance and to be more engaged on social. This group is less likely to share or engage in political commentary and/or explicit language or content, according to the study. One prospect, who Turnkey did not name but said is a projected second-round pick, deleted 11,500 posts.

 

How the prospects engaged on social media

 

 

Here are Turnkey’s assessments of projected early, middle and late-round draft picks. Projections are based on CBS Sports and ESPN, as of April 15.


ap images
View this post on Instagram

|| O P P O R T U N I T Y || 🙏🏾

A post shared by Devin Bush Il🙏 (@dbush_10) on

Devin Bush II (first round)

Michigan, linebacker

■ Similar to other prospects, his most frequent posts are about his family and football.

■ Strong social following on multiple platforms with a current social reach of over 57,000.

■ Advocates against the use of drugs, going so far as to share facts and the negative impact of drug use.

■ Explicit language has been seen on his social profiles; has tweeted negatively about other teams due to his Green Bay Packers fandom.

 
ap images
View this post on Instagram

行くとそれを参照してください

A post shared by Jerry Tillery Jr. (@jerrytillery) on

Jerry Tillery (late first or early second round)

Notre Dame, defensive tackle

■ His social behavior is tame and pointed. He has been careful not to have anything highly contentious on his profiles.

■ Rarely posts anything from himself to social media (mostly shares and retweets).

■ On Instagram, travel and adventure posts were his most common outside of football.

■ Behind the scenes posts. He shares photos of himself and his teammates in the locker room, practice, on bonding trips, and photos from games.


ap images

Mack Wilson (late second round)

Alabama, linebacker

■ Posts feature workouts, faith, family, and significant other.

■ Has used language that is not league or brand-friendly, including last week on his Facebook bio. His bio on Twitter referred to a biblical passage and information on how to contact his marketing agency.

■ Often mentions God and being “blessed” but could come across as disingenuous based on other language used.

■ Instagram profile is private and has a small following, but accepted Turnkey’s “follow” request within hours.

 

First Look podcast, with social media discussion at the 14:55 mark:

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2019/04/22/Research-and-Ratings/NFL-prospects-social-media.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2019/04/22/Research-and-Ratings/NFL-prospects-social-media.aspx

CLOSE