Most sports influencer marketing advice stops at "work with micro-influencers" and "be authentic". We wanted to see what the biggest sports brands actually do, so we pulled the 50 most recent sponsored posts for each of the most-searched sports brands in the US and looked at who posted, how each deal was disclosed, and which posts took off.

Here's why sports brands work with creators, the commonalities in their strategy, and a step-by-step way to run your own campaign.

Why sports brands use influencer marketing

Creators do a few things for sports brands that ads and product pages can't:

• Runners want a second opinion. A running shoe costs real money, and buyers want to hear from someone who has put miles on it. 9 of Asics' last 49 sponsored posts are shoe reviews or rotation breakdowns, like "Is the ASICS Sonicblast 2 worth it?"
• Back to school is a buying moment. Every August, parents and students shop for sneakers and kit at the same time. 10 of adidas' last 50 sponsored posts are back-to-school posts, from first-day outfits to a backpack challenge.
• A big race gives creators a story. Race week is when runners pay the most attention to what other runners wear. 11 of Hoka's last 50 sponsored posts come from UTMB race week in Chamonix, from race recaps to a day in the life at the event.
• Sneakers sell on style too. Plenty of people buy sports shoes they'll never run in. 9 of New Balance's last 49 sponsored posts are outfit posts and fit checks, not runs.

Top sports brands using influencer marketing

These are the most-searched sports brands in the US, according to Ahrefs. Deal types show how each post was disclosed (for example, with a paid partnership label or an ambassador hashtag). Creator tiers: micro 10k–50k followers, mid-tier 50k–500k, macro 500k+.

1. New Balance: campaigns run with retailers

10 of New Balance's last 49 sponsored posts tag a retailer alongside the brand, mostly in Europe: Zalando (5), Deichmann, Courir, Spartoo and Size?. 7 belong to its Grey Days campaign, most of them posted in May. Its creators are spread across Germany (8), the UK (5), Portugal (4) and the US (4), and only one post includes a code.

• Creators: @christinakirkman (1.0M), @yosefelm (162k) and @cameronjcampbell (18k) are among the creators who've posted for New Balance.
• How posts were disclosed: 36 paid partnership, 8 gifted, 5 unspecified

What to take from it: Keep sending new colorways to runners who already post for you. @cameronjcampbell, a runner with 18k followers, announced New Balance's 1080v15 colorway releasing that day and got 95.5k plays, about five times his following.

2. adidas: creators announcing their sponsorship

22 of adidas' last 50 sponsored posts carry its campaign hashtag #CreatedWithAdidas (#CreadoConAdidas in Spain). 4 creators used their post to announce they're now sponsored by adidas, from fitness creators to a runner taking on Berlin as their first major marathon. Its creators are based in the US (13), the UK (10) and Germany (5), 12 posts were left unlabeled, and none use a code.

• Creators: @aitana (4.9M), @wearsmymoney (155k) and @michaelwashh (20k) are among the creators who've posted for adidas.
• How posts were disclosed: 30 paid partnership, 12 unspecified, 3 ambassador, 3 gifted, 2 affiliate

What to take from it: Let a newly signed creator announce the deal in their own words. @michaelwashh announced he's partnering with Adidas Running ahead of his first major marathon in Berlin, and the post got 18.9k plays and 722 likes, nearly 4% of his 20k followers.

3. Nike: back-to-school hauls from parents

9 of Nike's last 50 sponsored posts are back-to-school posts, many from parents: three girls picking their own first-day outfits, a haul for two young basketball players, a family get-ready-with-me. One sneaker reviewer, @stevenatto, made 7 posts labeled as affiliate posts, each pointing to the shoes on Nike's site. Its creators are based in the US (13), the UK (5) and Germany (3), and none of the posts use a code.

• Creators: @tilakvarma9 (6.3M), @therealkinna (151k) and @caaseybarker (348k) are among the creators who've posted for Nike.
• How posts were disclosed: 37 paid partnership, 8 affiliate, 3 ambassador, 1 gifted, 1 unspecified

What to take from it: Time creators to the shopping moment, and tell followers exactly where to go. @caaseybarker's back-to-school post sent parents to their nearest Nike Factory Store for trainers, PE kit and backpacks, and got 4.0M plays, Nike's most-viewed post in its last 50.

4. Asics: Australian runners testing each new shoe

26 of Asics' last 49 sponsored posts tag its Australian account, and 27 name a specific shoe, led by the Novablast (9 posts). It gifts more than the others (18 posts disclosed as gifted), and 9 of its 33 creators posted more than once, led by @laylahlifts with 7 posts around the Gold Coast half marathon. Most creators with a listed location are in Australia (10), and only one post includes a code.

• Creators: @reviejane (241k), @the_other_brady (79k) and @loz.fraser (14k) are among the creators who've posted for Asics.
• How posts were disclosed: 19 paid partnership, 18 gifted, 8 ambassador, 3 unspecified, 1 affiliate

What to take from it: Send a new shoe to runners who already wore the last version. A creator with 14k followers who had been through several pairs of Novablasts posted the Novablast 6, gifted, and got 259k plays, Asics' most-viewed creator post.

5. Hoka: training logs and race weeks

11 of Hoka's last 50 sponsored posts promote the new Clifton 11 and Clifton PRO, often side by side ("which one matches your stride?"). 5 come from run clubs and group runs, like a Global Running Day run with Dick's House of Sport in Boston, and #HOKAPartner appears in 17 captions. Its creators are based in the US (18), Australia (6) and the UK (5), and none of the posts use a code.

• Creators: @marymccarths (343k), @jeremymille.r (256k) and @raceacrossthestates (155k) are among the creators who've posted for Hoka.
• How posts were disclosed: 32 paid partnership, 8 ambassador, 7 gifted, 3 unspecified

What to take from it: Ask runners to post their training week with your shoes in it. A new parent logging 65 miles, 12 weeks out from the Chicago Marathon, got 640k plays, Hoka's most-viewed post, with both Clifton models linked at the end.

What the top sports brands have in common

Looking across all 248 posts, four patterns stand out:

• They pay per post. 154 of the 248 posts (62%) were disclosed as paid partnerships, and only 22 as ambassador posts.
• Smaller creators get more out of their audience. Across 189 posts with visible likes, creators under 50k followers got a median of 2.5% of their followers liking the post. For creators above 50k, it was 1.0%.
• Running brands talk running, the others talk style. 42 of Hoka's posts and 33 of Asics' are about running. Nike and adidas had 6 and 5.
• Views don't follow follower count. Nike's two most-viewed sneaker styling posts came from creators with 95k and 68k followers (3.7M and 3.3M plays).

How to run a sports influencer marketing campaign

Here's how to run a campaign step by step, using what the top sports brands do at each stage.

1. Pick one goal and one metric

Decide what the campaign is for before you pick a single creator, because the goal changes who you book, how you pay them and what you ask them to post. The top sports brands' posts show both goals at work. New Balance's Zalando posts and Nike's back-to-school hauls are built to drive sales that week. Adidas' sponsorship announcements and Asics' race-day posts are built for reach.

• Sales: track revenue per creator with a unique link and code.
• Awareness: track views, saves and reach per post.
• Launch-week orders: if you release new models, like Asics' Novablast 6, track orders per creator in the first week after release.

Pick one metric per campaign so you can compare creators fairly afterwards.

2. Find and vet creators who fit your brand

Follower count is the last thing to filter on. A trail runner with 23k followers filming a backyard run through dried-up riverbeds in Nike's Pegasus Trail got 1.8M plays, about 78 times their following, because it showed the shoe doing exactly what trail runners buy it for. Across all five brands, creators under 50k followers got about two and a half times the likes relative to their audience.

Our survey found niche micro-creators are outperforming mega-influencers: nearly 60% of marketers said niche influencers performed better in 2025 than in 2024.

• Write down who buys your product (marathon first-timers, parents shopping for school, sneaker collectors) and look for creators living that life.
• Search Modash's database of 380M+ creators and filter by audience demographics (age, gender, location), bio keywords, engagement rate and fake-follower checks.
• Or describe that creator in plain language, like "runners who post honest running shoe reviews", and Modash's AI creator search surfaces matching creators on the platform you're searching.

• Check who else they've posted for. @georgiaburdock posted for both Nike and Hoka, and for Saucony too. Modash shows which brands a creator has already posted sponsored content for.

You can also find sports influencers for free, for example by searching the hashtags your buyers follow.

3. Choose the deal type

The top sports brands mostly pay per post. Nike and New Balance disclosed 37 and 36 of their posts as paid partnerships. Asics is the exception with 18 gifted posts, and Nike labeled 8 as affiliate posts, 7 of them from one sneaker reviewer.

• Gifting works for runners who'll review a new shoe after real miles, like the gifted Novablast 6 posts in Asics' mix.
• Paid posts suit launches and moments that have to land on a date, like back to school or a release day.
• Affiliate works for sneaker reviewers who post every new release, like the creator behind most of Nike's affiliate posts.
• Ambassador deals suit runners and athletes who train in your shoes every week. Almost none of the top sports brands do this at scale, so it's an easy way to stand out.

Commission-only is getting harder to sell, though. Over 23% of marketers in our survey said creators would take performance pay only if a flat fee came with it. If you run tiers, the average commission tiers in our affiliate research were 10%, 14% and 19%, and brands with more than one tier had more active affiliates.

4. Brief the content formats that work in sports

The captions from the top sports brands point to three formats that carry most of their creator content:

• Shoe reviews. Asics' and Hoka's runners break down one model at a time, from "is it worth it?" to Clifton 11 vs Clifton PRO. Ask creators to name the model and say what kind of runs it's for.
• Back-to-school hauls. Nike's and adidas' creators film kids' first-day outfits and sneaker picks (19 posts between them). Brief these for August, and say where followers can buy each piece.
• Race weeks and training logs. Hoka's creators posted from Chamonix and shared full training weeks. Tie briefs to a race your customers are training for, and ask for the week, not just race day.

Whatever the format, give creators one hashtag to use every time, like #HOKAPartner or #CreatedWithAdidas, and ask them to name the exact model so followers can find it.

5. Launch with tracked links and time-limited codes

The top sports brands almost never use codes: only 2 of the 248 posts include one. Their creators send followers to a store or a link instead, like a Nike Factory Store, Zalando or a link in bio.

Codes also leak. In our affiliate marketing research, 47.6% of marketers said they struggle with code poaching, where a creator's code ends up on coupon sites.

• Give every creator a tracked link for everyday posts, and add a code only for launches and sales.
• Put an end date in the caption so followers know the offer won't last.
• If creators use "comment for the link", make sure the link they send by DM is their tracked link.

In Modash, each creator gets a tracked link and a code tied to your Shopify data, so sales from DMs, bios and stories all count toward the right person. Commission is calculated on net revenue after refunds and returns.

6. Rebook your best creators

The top sports brands rarely rebook: only 26 of their 205 creators posted more than once. That's a missed chance, because runners wear out shoes and buy again, and a creator who comes back for each new pair shows the shoe earned a second buy. Asics' @laylahlifts, with 7 posts, is the exception.

Most marketers want to do more of this. In our influencer marketing trends survey, over 60% said they plan to invest more in long-term partnerships, but only 54% actually ran more of them last year.

• Start new creators on a single post, then offer a longer deal to the ones who hit your metric from step 1.
• Use revenue per creator, not likes, to decide who gets rebooked. Modash's campaign dashboard shows revenue, orders and ROAS for each creator.
• Give rebooked creators something new each time, like a new model, a new colorway or a race to train for, so their posts don't repeat.

Where sports creator programs go wrong

The top brands avoid a few mistakes that trip up smaller programs:

• Reviewing a shoe after one run. A first-run reaction can't tell followers how a shoe feels at mile 15 or after a month of training. Send shoes early enough that creators can log real miles before they post.
• Offering commission-only deals to established creators. In our survey, 63% of marketers said influencers were open to becoming affiliates in 2024. In 2025 that fell to 26%. When you reach out to established creators, offer a flat fee plus commission rather than commission alone.
• Running the affiliate program on autopilot. In our affiliate research, marketers who were "very involved" with their affiliates had 71.5% of them active. "Very hands-off" marketers had 10%. Affiliates post when you give them a reason to, so check in every month with something new to share. For sports, that could be a new release, a new colorway, or a race to train for.
• Sending affiliates old product. 93% of marketers gift products to affiliates, but almost 30% don't refresh them when something new launches. Send every new model and colorway to your creators before release day.
• Missing the release date. A launch post that goes live a week after release misses the moment people are searching for the shoe. Put the release date in the brief and send product early, so creators can post on launch day, like Asics' Sonicblast 2 posts that went up the day it launched.

FAQ

How much does sports influencer marketing cost?

It depends on platform, following and engagement. Micro-influencers often work for free product plus a fee in the low hundreds per post, or an affiliate commission. Larger creators charge more. Many brands start with gifting plus commission to test fit before committing to flat fees. To estimate what a specific creator is likely to charge, drop their handle into our free Instagram influencer pricing calculator.

Which platform is best for sports influencer marketing?

Instagram carries most sports creator work, and every sponsored post we analyzed for the five most-searched sports brands ran there. TikTok is worth testing too: in our survey, marketers rated TikTok videos the highest-performing deliverable (53.2%).

Which sports brands use influencer marketing?

New Balance, adidas, Nike, Asics and Hoka are the most-searched sports brands in the US, and all of them run active creator programs. See the breakdown above for who each one works with.

Should sports brands work with micro or macro influencers?

It depends on your goal. A launch chasing awareness leans bigger, a conversion play leans smaller and more trusted. In the sports posts we analyzed, creators under 50k followers got about two and a half times the likes relative to their audience size, so most brands should build their base with micro-influencers (10k–50k followers) and add bigger names for launches.

How do I measure sports influencer marketing?

Track sales per creator with unique links and codes, then compare revenue against what you paid (fees, product and commission). Our engagement rate calculator and fake follower checker help you vet creators before you spend, and our guide to influencer marketing ROI covers the full calculation.

Start your sports creator program

Find creators, manage relationships, pay them in 180+ countries and 36 currencies, and track every sale through Shopify – all in one place, with no fees taken out of creators' pay. Try Modash free, no credit card required – or browse the top sports influencers to see who's already out there.