You’re Sitting On Unsold Inventory

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry! 

There’s a version of Masters coverage that doesn’t require broadcast rights.

WHOOP found it.

As Rory McIlroy chased back-to-back wins at The Masters Tournament, WHOOP turned his performance into a story only they could tell, through data.

On Day 1, they looked back at his 2025 win:

• Recovery climbed from 61% in January to 74% entering Augusta

• Sleep performance jumped from 69% to 88%

• Resting heart rate stayed steady all weekend

Not just highlights. A setup for what was coming.

Then came the win.

Monday’s win asset showed Rory celebrating, with a heart rate waveform layered over the moment:

• 117 BPM on a potential tournament-winning putt

• 105 BPM on the tap-in

• 150 BPM in the celebration

“Heart rate at its lowest on 18 when it’s all on the line.”

Clean. Visual. Instantly tied to the product.

And then Will Ahmed, the brand’s Founder & CEO, added another layer.

He shared Rory’s recovery scores across all four rounds (79–94%)… followed by a drop to 7% on Monday.

A small detail that made the story feel human. And finished.

The performance backed it up:

• 8.1K engagements on the initial post

• 59.5K on the brand’s celebration creative

• 84.5K on Will’s post

That’s 42% more engagement from the founder’s account—with ~75% fewer followers (478K vs 1.9M).

A few things stand out:

• You don’t always need rights to tell a great story. You need a distinct, authentic lens on the moment.

• Wearable data turns athlete partnerships into true all‑access content fans crave, showing them the hidden strain that makes the feat feel real.

• A founder who consistently creates sharp, on‑brand content can unlock a second, high‑intent distribution channel beyond the main brand handles.

WHOOP let fans feel Rory’s win from the inside, and showed exactly why their product is built for moments like this.

In Today’s Edition:

• Content Monetization Audit 🔍️ 

• MOR Bulls BTS 🏋️

• F1 Cars of 7-Eleven 🏎️

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Audit That Finds Hidden Revenue

The hardest part of digital partnerships isn’t coming up with ideas.

It’s knowing what you actually have, and what you’re missing.

Across social, web, email, and app, there’s a constant flow of content:

• some of it performs

• some of it doesn’t

• and more of it drives value than most teams realize

But here’s where things break down.

High-performing content goes unsold.
Repeatable formats don’t get packaged.
And entire categories that should exist never get created.

Not because teams don’t see the opportunity.
But because there isn’t a clear system to evaluate it.

So when I work with teams, I start with a content monetization audit, a structured way to break down what’s working, what’s missing, and where real revenue opportunities exist across your entire digital ecosystem.

Here’s exactly how I approach it, and why it consistently surfaces real revenue opportunitities you can actually go sell.

The Framework: SWOT (but applied to revenue)

Every audit I run is structured as a SWOT Analysis:

• Strengths → What’s already working (and can be scaled or sold)

• Weaknesses → What’s underperforming or misaligned

• Opportunities → What’s currently unsold, underpriced, or untapped

• Threats → What could limit growth, revenue, or execution

Most people think of SWOT as a high-level strategy exercise. I don’t.

I use it as a revenue diagnostic tool.

Because the goal isn’t just to evaluate content.
It’s to understand: Where is money being made, missed, or mispriced?

Once you see where the real money is, you stop chasing cool ideas and start focusing on the ones that are actually worth the time and effort.

Step 1: Audit the entire digital ecosystem

I don’t only focus on social media (even though a lot of time is spent there).

I start with every digital channel the team runs:

• Organic social (all platforms)

• Paid social

• Website

• Mobile app

• Email

Most teams look at these channels in isolation, especially because their departments work in silos.

I’m looking at how they function as a system—how attention on one platform moves to another, and how that entire system supports revenue.

Because revenue doesn’t come from one channel. It comes from how they work together.

For most teams, this is the first time they’ve seen all their digital channels mapped as a single revenue system instead of a set of disconnected assets.

Step 2: Understand the content strategy (before touching sponsorships)

Before I even look at brand integrations, I need to understand how content behaves across the season.

So I go channel by channel and map:

• What gets posted during wins vs losses

• Gameday vs off-day content

• Home vs away coverage

• How playoffs are handled

• What happens around tentpole moments: Draft, Schedule Release, Training Camp, Transactions, etc

Note: X (Twitter) Advanced Search is your friend here. Use it to focus on specific ranges of time.

This is where the revenue picture starts to come into focus. Looking at content this way shows me:

• what inventory is currently unsold (but should be)

• what gaps exist in what’s not being created

• and which high-demand moments are still available (e.g. gameday graphics, score updates, starting lineups, player arrivals, etc)

These are some of the most consistent, repeatable, and valuable pieces of inventory, and they’re often underutilized or completely unsold.

Skip this, and you’re guessing what to sell, and how to price it. That’s how you get underpriced deals, missed moments, and campaigns that don’t last.

Step 3: Evaluate Sponsored Content (from both sides)

This is where most audits can go wrong.

People look at sponsored content and ask: “Did it perform?”

That’s only half the question.

I evaluate every integration through two lenses:

1) The fan / platform lens

Is this an integration, or an interruption?

The north star is simple:
Does this match what a fan expected when they hit follow?

Common issues I see:

• Open slates that delay the action (and kill retention)

• Content built for the brand’s audience, not the rightsholder’s audience

• Straight-up ads masquerading as organic social content

If you’re ignoring the fan, you’re on a one-way street to a flop.

2) The brand lens

Even when content performs, it can still fail the brand, especially if you’re hiding them instead of integrating them.

I look for:

• Is the logo actually legible? (you’d be surprised…)

• Is the brand tagged? (often it’s not, and it always should be)

• Is the connection clear between the moment and the partner?

If a fan can’t quickly answer, “Who is this brought to you by?”, the integration isn’t doing its job.

Good sponsored content has to do both:

• Perform like unsponsored content

• Deliver memorable brand association

Most teams only get one right.

Step 4: The real unlock → unsponsored content

This is the part most people miss.

The audit is not just about sponsored content.

It’s about your entire content strategy, holistically.

Because your unsponsored content determines:

• How fast your audience grows

• How strong your reach/engagement is

• How much your inventory is worth

Two things I always look at:

1) Audience size (yes, it still matters)

People love calling follower count a vanity metric.

It’s not.

It’s:

• A signal of attention

• A quick benchmark vs competitors

• A credibility check in every pitch deck

I always map where a team ranks vs competitors across platforms.

• If you’re behind, it highlights how to close the gap—whether that’s scale, performance, or who you’re reaching

• If you’re ahead, it becomes a clear point of differentiation in how you position your content offering

Either way, the audit gives you a clear go-to-market story.

2) Per-post performance

This is what actually drives value.

• Impressions

• Views

• Engagement

Because I strongly believe in performance-based pricing for sponsored content.

If your content performs better:

• your inventory becomes more valuable

• your pricing becomes easier to justify

So improving organic content isn’t just a content play. It’s a revenue strategy.

Without that performance layer, you’re either underpricing your best inventory or overpromising on content that can’t support your rate card.

Step 5: Pressure-test channel strategy

This is where a lot of inefficiencies show up.

The biggest issue I see: Teams trying to force middle-and-lower-funnel outcomes out of organic social with links.

Driving web/app/in-store traffic.
Selling tickets.
Pushing merch.
Generating leads.

Can it work? Sure.

Should it be your primary approach? No.

Organic social is built for:

• Reach

• Engagement

• Attention

Not conversion.

If you want conversion, you need to tap into the channels built for that objective: Paid media, Email, Website, App, SMS, and more.

Without that, most of these posts fall flat.

Treating organic social like a sales brochure ends up hurting both: weaker content performance and underperforming campaigns for partners who were promised ‘digital support.’

Step 6: Channel-by-channel breakdown

Once the strategy is clear, I break it down channel by channel.

You’ll see where you’re currently leaving reach, fan value, or sponsorship dollars on the table.

Here’s what typically comes up:

Facebook & Instagram

Feeds are treated like real-time platforms, even though they’re not chronological.

Also:

• Too many videos without captions (sound-off behavior is the default)

• Instagram underutilized as premium, high-impact inventory

Instagram should feel like courtside seats, not a dumping ground.

Instagram Stories

Usually underused.

• Not enough of the full gameday story is captured (especially during losses)

• Not enough testing to generate meaningful data (leaning on a built-if-sold approach vs built-to-sell approach)

In most cases, posting more would actually help, not hurt.

X

Too much linking off platform.

• Web stories

• YouTube videos

• Sweepstakes entries

• Ticketing/Merchandise pages

Instead of keeping fans engaged natively.

TikTok

Over-reliance on:

• Highlights

• High-production content

Not enough:

• Compelling Hooks

• Native storytelling and entertainment

YouTube

This is where a lot of value is left on the table. Is your channel just another highlights and press conferences hub?

You can’t copy and paste strategies from other channels here (except Shorts).

Common issues:

• Weak title and thumbnail combinations

• Ineffective use of the first 30 seconds

• No clear structure or playlists for an organized user experience

• Not using pinned comments or engaging with fans in the comments

• Ignoring the post feature

• Not producing content more like creators

YouTube is one of the few channels that can actually support full-funnel partnerships—especially with fans watching on TV—so when you fix this, you’re not just growing views, you’re unlocking impactful QR/promo-code and second-screen integrations.

Website

Simple, but often missed:

• Are all social channels linked in your icon set?

• Is email signup easy to find?

• Are there monetization layers via banner ads, page/section takeovers, integrations into web stories.

Mobile App

Too often just a copy of the website.

Instead, it should answer:

• Why would a fan come here regularly? Not just gameday.

• What’s unique to this experience?

• Is it easy to navigate?

And yes, it should be monetized. Think load screen inclusions, banner ads, page/section takeovers, and interactive experiences (sweepstakes, games, etc).

Email

Still one of the most valuable channels for targeted reach and website traffic.

I look for:

• Ease of signup

• Welcome flows

• Preference options

• Monetization

Revenue can be driven through dedicated emails, email inclusions, sponsored email series, and using this channel to amplify sponsored assets that live elsewhere.

Paid Social

Underutilized more often than not.

Key questions:

• Are you using it at all?

• Is it working together with organic content, leveraging creative for more efficient scale?

• Is creative diversified and tailored to placement?

What this audit actually produces

At the end of this process, you’re not getting a list of opinions.

You’re getting:

• A clear view of what’s working vs what’s broken

• A map of unsold and underpriced inventory

• A prioritized plan for what to fix first

• A structure for how to package and sell content moving forward

And most importantly: A path to turn content into predictable, repeatable revenue.

If you’re running content, partnerships, or both, this is the work that sits underneath everything else.

It’s the difference between content as a cost center and content as a revenue engine.

If you want this level of clarity for your team, you can grab time on my calendar here.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Philadelphia 76ers guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe—better known as “VJ Maxx”—pulled up to their Play-In Tournament game styled by TJ Maxx. The brand partnered with @LeagueFits (run by SLAM) to bring it to life. This fits TJ Maxx’s larger strategy, sponsoring arrival content with the Washington Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks.

Red Bull Racing took its static F1 car on a tour of 7-Eleven locations across Miami, with clues dropped on social. They cleverly tapped right into the brand’s infamous #CarsOf7Eleven series to drive attention to the announcement.

The Chicago Bulls partnered with Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH for a behind-the-scenes look at Yuki Kawamura balancing NBA and G League duties in the same day. A natural fit—MOR is the team’s official orthopedic provider, and the story leans into performance, recovery, and what it takes to stay game-ready.

This strategy caught my attention. A month after Jayson Tatum released his five-part YouTube series The Quiet Work documenting his return from a torn Achilles, he dropped a 20-minute cut, now sponsored by Jordan Brand. It opens with a new scene featuring Tatum in branded gear.

The Washington Commanders were one of many NFL teams that rolled out new uniforms last week. To promote the launch, they had D.C. United players wear the jerseys for arrival content that same day. Smart crossover, especially with Audi as a shared partner.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

ICYMI: Rich Johnson highlighted three hidden sponsorship gems that haven't been plastered all over LinkedIn [via The Activation].

Go One More: David Millay broke down how Bare Performance Nutrition is turning brand storytelling into something people actually choose to watch, instead of renting attention through sponsorships.

Real Estate Revenue: On JohnWallstreet’s Big Business on Campus podcast, Gloria Nevarez explained how the Mountain West Conference’s move to Las Vegas—paired with a new state-of-the-art facility—can become a revenue-generating asset.

AI Meets Augusta: Joe Farren dove into how The Masters Tournament is expanding its media playbook with IBM and Amazon—using data, AI, and alt-casts to create new inventory beyond the core broadcast [via Future Sport].

Winning Collab Playbook: Oren John and Bimma Williams shared five ways to approach collaborations that actually work in modern brand building.