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Brand Affinity is important for NIL partnerships
And why more brands will require this from athletes
Tariq Ahmad
August 13, 2025
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Brand Affinity is important for NIL partnerships
And why more brands will require this from athletes
‘Brand Affinity’ cup. (Photo Credit: fabrikbrands.com)
A few months ago, I met a person at a conference who works for a audio product brand. We had a good initial conversation, and had a follow-up call a couple of weeks later.
We were discussing partnership opportunities for athletes on our roster.
She was fine with the initial verbal agreement of product and payment for the athlete.
She then asked, “Do your athletes have brand affinity for our products? We only want to work with people who already use our stuff.”
I inquired with the athletes, and they said while they had heard of this brand, they had never used the products.
I informed my colleague, and we agreed to put a potential partnership on hold for the time being. (No hard feelings from either side - it’s just how it went.)
What is brand affinity?
According to BrandWatch, brand affinity is an “emotional bond that connects customers to a particular brand.”
This is evident in sports, as fans have brand affinity to certain shoes (Nike, Under Armour, etc.), teams (LA Lakers, NY Yankees, etc.) or a slew of other reasons. (This is my hometown team, I’m an alum of the college, etc.)
How can athletes improve brand affinity?
Posting content regularly
There are brands we all like and use regularly. As athletes, posting about these brands in your regular content can potentially help land partnerships with those companies. (Not always guaranteed, though.)
It doesn’t need to be every day. Even starting a 1-2 times per month (and doing it organically within your content) is sufficient.
Align with personal values
Before sharing your brand affinity, ensure that the brands line up with your personal brand of how you want others to view you.
For example, if you are lactose intolerant, posting content about full fat dairy milk in the hopes of landing a partnership isn’t going to work.
Brands want regular users
Sounds simple enough, but if an athlete regularly uses a brand’s products, then said athlete will create much better content for the potential partnership.
Additionally, brands feel better knowing that talent they are working with are genuine users and lovers of their products - not just someone being inauthentic and collecting a quick payout.
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