Finding the right athlete comes down to three things: audience fit, engagement, and deal compatibility.
Step 1: Define your goal
- Driving sales or app downloads? Prioritize engagement rate over follower count.
- Building brand awareness? Reach matters more — look at mid-tier and above.
- Creating content? Almost any tier works. Micro-athletes often produce the most authentic content.
Step 2: Use search filters
OpenSponsorship's search lets you filter by sport, location, follower range, gender, and deal type. Start broad, then narrow. A local fitness brand might get better results with a regional athlete at 20,000 followers than a national star at 2 million.
Step 3: Check engagement, not just reach
Every profile shows engagement rate alongside follower count. An athlete with 30,000 followers at 7% engagement will outperform one with 300,000 followers at 0.5% engagement for most direct campaigns.
Step 4: Look at deal fit
If your budget is product-only, filter for athletes who accept product deals. Don't waste time approaching athletes whose minimum is cash.
Step 5: Start with 3–5 athletes
Run a small test campaign before committing to long-term deals. See who delivers, then scale those relationships.
Browse available athletes: https://opensponsorship.com/search-profiles