Indrani Batabyal
Friday, August 9, 2024
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Paris has emerged as the epicenter of influential Team USA athletes on Instagram, led by LeBron James, who boasts an astounding 159 million followers. His immense popularity gives him the potential to earn up to $412,000 per sponsored post, solidifying his dominance on the platform. Not far behind are fellow basketball stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who claim the second and third spots among the most followed Team USA Olympians on Instagram. Gymnastics icons Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, along with skateboarder Nyjah Huston, also feature prominently in the top ten most followed athletes.
These findings come from a study by sports betting experts GambleSpot, who analyzed 597 Team USA athletes to determine the leaders in Instagram followers. Using Inzpire’s Instagram earnings calculator, they estimated the potential earnings each athlete could generate from a single sponsored post.
LeBron James, a 39-year-old power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers from Ohio, leads the pack. With his massive Instagram presence, James could command up to $412,800 for each sponsored post.
Stephen Curry, another NBA superstar, ranks second with 56 million followers on his handle @stephencurry30, translating into potential earnings of up to $186,300 per post.
Kevin Durant, who rounds out the top three, maintains a strong following of 13 million on his Instagram account @easymoneysniper, where he could earn up to $61,800 per sponsored post.
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles takes fourth place with 8 million followers under her belt.
The top 10 most influential Team USA athletes
| Rank | Team USA Olympic athlete | Sport | Instagram followers | Approximate earning per sponsored Instagram post |
| 1. | Lebron James | Basketball | 159,000,000 | $412,800 |
| 2. | Stephen Curry | Basketball | 56,700,000 | $186,300 |
| 3. | Kevin Durant | Basketball | 13,400,000 | $61,800 |
| 4. | Simone Biles | Gymnastics | 8,600,000 | $45,600 |
| 5. | Joel Embiid | Basketball | 7,600,000 | $39,900 |
| 6. | Jayson Tatum | Basketball | 7,100,000 | $37,900 |
| 7. | Devin Booker | Basketball | 5,500,000 | $31,300 |
| 8. | Nyjah Huston | Skateboarding | 5,200,000 | $30,100 |
| 9. | Anthony Edwards | Basketball | 3,600,000 | $22,800 |
| 10. | Sunisa Lee | Gymnastics | 2,000,000 | $14,80 |
Speaking on the findings, Andriy Nezdropa, CEO of Adwise Partners LLC, the company behind GambleSpot, said:
“Investigating the Instagram impact and earnings from sponsored posts of Team USA athletes sheds light on the economic opportunities available to athletes in the digital era.
“Brands are always on the lookout for athletes with substantial social media followings to endorsements their products or services. Identifying which athletes are the influential provides insight as to who brands are most likely to collaborate with.
“Monitoring current trends in social media influence can help predict future stars and changes in the sports marketing landscape. It can offer a forecast of which athletes might become the next major influencers.”
