Not so long ago, life was pretty simple for sports leagues and teams when it came to connecting with fans: the contests and athletes were the stars of the show, with the on-field action covered and celebrated by sports media accordingly.
Authors
- John Cairney
Professor and Head of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences; Director, The Queensland Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies, The University of Queensland
- Rick Burton
David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management, Syracuse University
Things are rapidly changing.
Sport used to primarily be about performance, competition and entertainment. Now, sport and the athletes who play it are often dynamic media platforms.
This paradigm shift is being driven by the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), data mining, immersive technology and the creator economy. Each exposes anomalies in the old model and demands a new framework for how sport is consumed, valued and organised.
A changing landscape
In today's modern sporting landscape, many leagues, teams and even mega-events are fully functioning media companies.
Athletes are both product and producer.
They not only generate performance-based content (highlights, stats) but also personal narratives, political positions , or cultural influence.
They are creators and media entities in the full sense - with their own brands, platforms and followers.
Professional leagues and events must reckon with the power shift these actions imply.
There is extraordinary opportunity in leveraging athletes' identities for deeper fan engagement. But there is also caution: narratives may not always align with league and team/owner agendas.
Consider some recent examples.
Former No. 1-ranked women's tennis player Naomi Osaka used her platforms to create a brand that spans fashion, media and activism.
Her 2021 withdrawal from the French Open , which she announced on her own terms on social media, stemmed from her decision to skip post-match press conferences to protect her mental health.
Osaka's move highlighted both the opportunity created by authentic, athlete-driven engagement and the challenge it posed to traditional tournament control.
In 2024, Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese baseball phenomenon , offered a different but related case.
A dominant pitcher and elite hitter, Ohtani signed a record-breaking US$700 million (A$1.1 billion) contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the most lucrative deal in baseball history.
Since joining the Dodgers, he has tightly curated his public image, favouring controlled, self-managed media content over traditional press access.
His control over access and messaging means the Dodgers and Major League Baseball can't fully shape his story.
Ash Barty's post-retirement career offers a compelling Australian parallel.
Since stepping away from tennis in 2022 while ranked No. 1, Barty has carefully balanced commercial endorsements, a memoir and media appearances.
Like Osaka and Ohtani, Barty's example speaks to a new form of athlete agency: one where narrative control, emotional transparency and strategic silence all play a role in reshaping sport's public conversation.
All these cases illustrate a shifting paradigm - where athletes are no longer just performers but powerful media outlets, often with more influence than the familiar institutions they represent.
The influence of AI
This opens important questions around ownership, intellectual property, image rights and the ethical stewardship of public platforms.
It also means if athletes, players and leagues are media companies, monetisation is a function - but not the sole purpose. Successful media ecosystems don't just sell content, they also build belonging.
This means investing in and influencing community, culture and shared values - not just launching branded apps, paid streaming services, or spin-off content that extend the brand.
AI, in this context, becomes a community-builder, not just a recommendation engine. Its ability to support personalised experiences and micro-segmented fan journeys allows for mass intimacy: experiences that feel deeply individual yet can be scaled broadly.
With the help of data and machine learning, leagues and teams can now deliver mass customisation not just of products but of experiences and narratives - tailoring highlight reels, merchandise, content and even storylines for each fan. This shift enables a deeper, more emotional form of engagement.
The National Basketball Association (NBA)'s upgraded app and NBA ID platform bring this to life, using Microsoft Azure AI to serve fans personalised highlight reels, real-time stat overlays and exclusive content based on their favourite teams and players.
These "fan journeys of one" show how leagues can turn data into connection - building not just audiences but communities, powered by AI.
As to what the future may hold, some key questions in this space are:
- How does AI reshape the power dynamics between leagues, athletes and fans?
- What new business models will emerge when the fan is also a co-creator?
- Can AI be used to foster social good through sport, not just drive engagement metrics?
This ongoing tension between "brand-dom" (controlled or innovative messaging) and "fandom" (grassroots, emotionally driven engagement) will continue to evolve as technology also evolves.
Sport's future won't just be something we watch - it will be shaped by fans, athletes and technology working together, and it will keep changing faster than ever.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
