🏈 What’s the Smartest Super Bowl Marketing Move This Year? (Hint: It’s NOT a TV Ad)

Brands are spending $8 Million dollars for a 30-second Super Bowl ad this weekend to accomplish their business objectives.

But what is the NFL’s biggest objective?

Growing its audience. Specifically, the NFL needs more young fans and international fans.

That’s why the NFL is hosting over 150 creators at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

This is part of a longer-term creator strategy the NFL kicked off in 2023, which included a “Creator of the Week” program. The “Creator of the Week” program generated 153 Million total impressions, 46.5 Million views, and over 2 Million engagements for the NFL.

Last year, the NFL invited 50 creators to the Super Bowl. This year, the creator presence is even bigger.

On Saturday night, iShowSpeed and Kai Cenat are rival team captains of a flag football game that combines teams of creators, musicians, and former NFL players. This will be streamed exclusively on YouTube.

65% of Gen-Z are cord cutters, which is why the NFL is meeting them where they are — on YouTube. We can expect clips from the creator flag football game will live all over TikTok, Instagram, and other social media channels.

The NFL has also invited a diverse group of international creators from countries like Germany, Mexico, and UK — focus markets for NFL expansion. These creators also span other topics adjacent to sports — like fashion, gaming, and music.

This is an example of a solid creator strategy.
✅ Big names for reach. (Kai Cenat, iShowSpeed)
✅ Strong content formats, not just one-off posts. (Flag Football)
✅ Niche creators for deeper engagement. (Local & international creators)
✅ Pop culture crossover for relevance. (Music, fashion, gaming content)

The NFL is arguably the best run sports league in the world and their marketing strategy is miles ahead of rival sports.

No matter who wins the Super Bowl, the NFL has already won the hearts and minds of Gen-Z and global fans — through creators.