It seems like every athlete has a podcast or docuseries these days. From Travis Kelce and the Mannings to LeBron James and Cam Newton, athletes have gone from being the subject of sports media to becoming media businesses in and of themselves.
This shift reflects something bigger happening in fandom. According to YouGov research conducted across 15 markets in 2025, 59% of sports fans overall follow their favorite athletes on social media. That number rises to 70% among fans ages 18 to 34.
In short, athlete-led media an obvious opportunity – but it also creates a new problem.
As more athletes get a microphone, just having access to them isn’t enough to make a media product distinctive. The next phase of athlete-led media needs to offer something audiences can’t already get from podcasts, social feeds or a postgame interview.
The new opportunity is to combine authentic athlete voices with official league data and technology that can take fans deeper inside the game. But the goal isn’t simply to create more athlete-led content. It’s to combine technology, athlete expertise and premium production to develop formats that have not existed before.
Turning the athlete’s view into the fan experience
For decades, fans and professional athletes have effectively watched two different versions of the same event.
Fans see the broadcast, with its professional camera angles, commentary, replays and statistics. But players and coaches have access to a much deeper layer of information that helps them study movement, spacing, positioning and decision-making. The player view allows professionals to understand not just what happened, but why it happened.
There is evidence that fans increasingly want that a deeper experience. IBM’s 2025 survey of more than 20,000 sports fans across 12 countries found that 65% believe that greater access to players and teams would improve their digital sports experience. Meanwhile, among people who follow sports influencers, 74% said storytelling is important to how they experience or connect with sports.
Addressing that gap is at the heart of a new athlete-led media venture between Genius Sports, former NBA All-Star Chris Paul and Words + Pictures, the production company behind “The Last Dance” and “30 for 30.” With over two decades of NBA experience, Paul built a reputation as one of the game’s sharpest basketball minds, known for his ability to read defenses, anticipate plays and understand the decisions unfolding across the court. The idea is to pair that depth of knowledge with technology traditionally used by professional athletes and turn it into an entirely new kind of consumer storytelling.
Instead of simply telling fans why a play worked, imagine Paul breaking down a critical possession or explaining how decisions about defense and shot creation changed the outcome of a game. He can use Genius Sports technology to help bring his analysis to life.
Technology will define the next era of athlete media
But this is more than just a way for fans to hear from one of basketball’s most knowledgeable players. It’s a window into how Paul sees and understands the game.
Most creators can talk about what happened in a game, but they don’t have access to the advanced technology that professional leagues, teams and coaches use to understand why it happened.
That is what makes this model different: the use of technology that captures the movement, positioning and decision-making behind every play, giving creators access to the same tools used by the professionals.
As AI makes basic sports content easier to produce, the real differentiator will be access to technology that powers the game at its highest level. Put that technology in the hands of athletes who understand the sport better than anyone, and it can turn their expertise into an entirely new kind of media.
The Genius Sports venture is an early example of that model.
The next sports sponsorship won’t look like an ad
For advertisers, this evolution could open up an entirely new canvas. Brands have traditionally bought into fairly distinct parts of sports media, including live rights, highlights, social content, creator partnerships, podcasts and sponsorships. Rights-protected, data-driven content can begin bringing those environments together and create sponsorship assets that did not previously exist.
An athlete-led breakdown incorporating official tracking data could become a sponsored franchise. For example, a brand could sponsor an athlete analyzing a defining play or a 3D visualization that lets fans experience a moment from the player’s perspective. A brand could also align itself with a recurring series that takes audiences inside the decisions that shape a game.
This gives advertisers something beyond a logo placement or athlete endorsement. Brands can become associated with content fans actively seek out because it helps them understand and experience the game differently.
For Genius Sports, this also means that the same technology powering the core experience can help create entirely new sponsorship surfaces and repeatable branded formats from a single game moment.
Athlete-led media has already given athletes direct relationships with their fans and the ability to build businesses around their voices. The next evolution could give them something even more powerful: technology that lets fans experience the game just like the pros do.
