Top Athlete Brand Deals of the 2025 NFL Draft

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You can't just hope fans show up. Aston Martin F1 made sure they wanted to..

Two weeks ago, we talked about how critical it is to give fans a clear reason to engage — especially when you're trying to grow a channel.

Aston Martin F1 just leveled up its loyalty game, giving fans a new reason to join the I / AM engagement platform.

They launched I / AM DROPS — a new series of limited-edition collaborations and experiences blending F1 with global culture.

First up? A partnership with The Rolling Stones, featuring exclusive merch and a chance to win a one-of-a-kind guitar signed by Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

What stood out was how well thought-out the integrated marketing strategy was:

• Lead with exclusivity: Fans had to sign up and share their information to unlock the DROP.

• Create an in-person moment: Aston Martin took over The Rolling Stones store for one day, giving I / AM members who successfully unlocked the DROP early access at a private SoHo event.

• Keep it accessible: Even if you weren’t a member, you could still visit the Carnaby Street store and grab a piece of the collection.

That last part is key. By blending exclusivity with accessibility, Aston Martin not only forged stronger in-person connections with fans — they also created another touchpoint to drive new sign-ups for the I / AM platform.

Getting fans excited is great — but getting their info into your CRM is even better. It’s the foundation for deeper engagement, smarter marketing, and real loyalty.

With I / AM DROPS set to continue all season, Aston Martin F1 isn’t just creating one-off moments — they’re building a steady stream of opportunities to grow their fan database and deepen connections over time.

In Today’s Edition:

• NFL Draft Scouting Report 👀

• GPII Undercover And On Brand 🥸

• Wrexham’s Meta Moment 👓️

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Best Sponsor Plays From First-Round Picks

2025 NFL Draft: Who Won the Sponcon Game?

TL;DR:
We tracked every sponsored Instagram post from first-round NFL Draft picks. 75 posts. 41 brands. One clear trend: Players are showing up earlier—and smarter—in the sponcon game.

We’re putting a twist on last year’s NFL Draft scouting report.

In 2025, we broke coverage into two parts. This edition focuses on digital brand partnerships from a player perspective.

I reviewed the Instagram accounts of all 32 first-round picks and tracked every sponsored post from April 1 through the end of the draft on April 26.

Let’s break down the numbers, standout activations, and biggest winners.

Brand Stats

There were 75 pieces of sponsored content across 32 first-round picks on Instagram between April 1–26. Those posts featured 41 different brands.

Most active brands:

• Buffalo Wild Wings (8 posts)

• Verizon (5)

• Raising Cane’s (5)

• Head & Shoulders (4)

• Panini (4)

Buffalo Wild Wings: A good reminder that athletes can be creators—but not all creators are athletes. BWW went with a volume play, tapping players beyond the first round with a templated setup for easy execution. Each one sat at a table and delivered the same line: “I don’t know where I’m going, but I know I’m going to All You Can Eat at Buffalo Wild Wings when I get there,” followed by their go-to order. Bonus points for pairing it with Pepsi Zero Sugar.

Verizon: More on that later!

Raising Cane’s: Players got “draft ready” with Cane’s, showing up at locations or food trucks. This collab with Will Campbell and Tetairoa McMillan racked up nearly 150K engagements.

Head & Shoulders: Simple setup—players in front of a green screen, with animations calling out a football stat and a hair stat. But it left me wanting more. A bigger budget could’ve opened the door to a red carpet activation (hair is part of the outfit, after all). Or a fun twist: a collab with the top Wunderlich scorers, highlighting players with “good heads on their shoulders.”

Panini: Panini leaned into hype videos to showcase the new faces of their trading card lineup.

Top total social value (among brands with 2+ posts):

• Verizon – $22,246

• Buffalo Wild Wings – $14,426

• Crocs – $11,983

• Cane’s – $11,241

• Celsius – $10,732

Top value per post:

• Crocs – $5,922/post

• Celsius – $5,366

• Verizon – $4,455

• Under Armour – $3,256

• Cane’s – $2,248

Category leaders:

• Apparel & Accessories – 10 brands

• Food Products – 5 brands

• Beverages – 4 brands

• Consumer Products – 3 brands

Player Stats

The average first-rounder posted 2.2 sponsored posts.

Six players had zero sponcon on their feed.

Most active players:

• Ashton Jeanty – 9 posts

• Shemar Stewart, Maxwell Hairston – 6 each

• Jaxson Dart – 5

• Travis Hunter, Armand Membou, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, and Tyler Warren – 4 each

Top-performing post:

• Travis Hunter x Snickers – $26,244 in social value

• 104% higher than the next closest (Dart x Realtree – $12,843)

Top value per post:

• Hunter – $11,128/post (even excluding the Snickers post, he led the field)

• Dart – $4,685/post

• Jeanty – $4,312/post

Top 10 Standout Sponcon

These 10 brands stood out for creativity, context, and cultural fit:

Verizon: Draft Day Conversations

Posts: 5 | Players: Ashton Jeanty, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Maxwell Hairston, and Mykel Williams.

On the team side, Verizon is the most prominent brand that sponsors calls to the draftees.

They flipped the script this year—setting up a branded space in Green Bay where players made emotional phone calls to loved ones. A perfect moment for a phone brand to own.

Mykel Williams was the only player in the campaign who didn’t take the call from Green Bay, rather, we saw him at home receiving the call from the San Francisco 49ers.

Factor Meals: Two-Minute Drill

Posts: 1 | Players: Matthew Golden

This is an idea I want to see Factor turn into a series with NFL, UFL, and or College Football players.

Golden was asked rapid-fire questions in the two minutes it took to heat a Factor meal. Bonus points for the native football lingo with two-minute drill.

Settlers Of Catan: But first, Catan!

Posts: 1 | Players: Grey Zabel

Zabel played Catan pre-Draft, then the Seattle Seahawks really leaned in—designing a custom Catan card to hype their pick. A Catan box even made it into his draft call moment.
Bonus: the spot got picked up by Sunday Night Football.

OpenDoor: Make The Easy Move

Posts: 1 | Players: Ashton Jeanty

Timed perfectly. Jeanty was gearing up to move to his new NFL city, and Opendoor—who simplifies home sales—leaned in with a native social transition using a ball toss to camera to segue into how moving doesn’t need to be scary.

Saxx Underwear: Limited Edition Briefs

Posts: 1 | Players: Ashton Jeanty

What did Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby know that we didn’t? The night before the draft, Jeanty unboxed SAXX underwear—owned by Maxx Crosby.

The twist? He became Crosby’s teammate 24 hours later with the 6th pick.

Crocs: Red Carpet Ready

Posts: 2 | Players: Ashton Jeanty and Jaxson Dart

Jeanty stole the show on the Toyota Red Carpet arriving in a tuxedo. He completed the fit with a pair Swarovski Crocs.

Dart announced his Crocs deal pre-Draft but didn’t attend the red carpet in Green Bay.

Sharpie: Signature Moment

Posts: 1 | Players: Ashton Jeanty and Tetairoa McMillan

For the biggest signature of their lives, Ashton Jeanty and Tetairoa McMillan used Sharpie’s signature pen.

The three-way collab told nostalgic stories of using Sharpies growing up while highlighting product features.

Game Network: Path To The Draft

Posts: 1 | Players: Tetairoa McMillan

Earlier this year, McMillan launched a docuseries with Game Network—a streaming platform for athletes.

He used the Draft to tease the latest episode drop, showing how players can extend value during the “downtime” of the offseason.

Kettle: Sweepstakes To Watch

Posts: 2 | Players: Will Campbell and Tyler Warren

The duo partnered with luxury watch marketplace Kettle to give away the Rolexes they wore on draft night—plus prizes celebrating their college legacies and NFL Debuts (e.g. trips to see their first games).

Smart mix of awareness, earned media, and incentive-driven engagement.

Snickers: Best Of Both Worlds

Posts: 2 | Players: Travis Hunter

Snickers leaned into their dual-pack (ice cream + bar) with Hunter—a two-way player and Heisman winner.

The brand played off pre-draft talk about teams wanting him to pick one position.
Perfect alignment: versatility in one package.

The Takeaway

The 2025 NFL Draft proved one thing: draft week is no longer just about where players land—it’s about how they show up.

The most successful brands leaned into timing, emotion, and platform-native content to meet the moment. From heartfelt phone calls to clever product tie-ins, the campaigns that won weren’t just relevant—they were memorable. And for brands looking to break through, the playbook is clear: plan early, move fast, and let the players tell the story.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $1,820] You’ve got to see this slick intro animation the US Women’s National Team created for its player vlogs, sponsored by Marriott Bonvoy.

[Social Value: $44,071] Is DoorDash back in NASCAR? After leaving the sport in 2024, this video edit — featuring a DoorDash sticker on the dashboard — could be a subtle tease at a new partnership.

[Social Value: $11,958] For the third straight year, Wrexham AFC secured promotion — and in the middle of the celebration, they made sure to capture the moment through the lens of their Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Liverpool also notably integrated a brand partner into its Premier League title celebration with a Google Pixel Selfie from Mo Salah (Before, After).

[Social Value: $32,429] Speaking of the Reds, Liverpool teamed up with creator John Nellis for the UPS Ping Pong Challenge, where competitors had to toss ping pong balls into progressively smaller UPS boxes.

[Social Value: $68,193] Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II went undercover as a team store employee — a perfect example of effective product placement inside the Fanatics experience.

[Social Value: $14,068] Paris Saint-Germain launched a new Beat The Box series with Free, featuring players tackling rapid-fire trivia — a smart tie-in to the brand’s high-speed internet.

*Social value is defined as the full equivalent media value of this social post based on applicable impressions, video views, and engagements.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Stat of the Week: Early results from The Online Rule’s State of Football Social Media 2025 report are in — and more than 50% of teams still don’t have a documented social media strategy.

Measuring Impact: It’s crucial to know what you’re building toward in a partnership. SponsorUnited pulled together a list of 25 potential KPIs you can use to measure sponsorship success.

Creative Cloud Blitz: The NFL and Adobe launched an AI-powered fan experience partnership that includes some perfect fits: new team templates in Adobe Express, Creative Cloud access for the league’s 140+ live content coordinators, and My Cause, My Cleats design integration.

Credit Union Gameplan: Kristin Llewelyn, owner of The Sponsorship Company, shared her non-negotiables for building successful team partnerships with Credit Unions [h/t Nick Lawson, CEO at SQWAD].

Fan-Powered Billboards: The St. Louis Blues turned their fans into the stars of their playoff campaign — letting users upload photos through the Blues app to be featured on digital billboards around St. Louis [via Matt Gardner, VP of Innovation at the St. Louis Blues].