We should be proud; Canadian athletes are representing and making mad money doing it!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

It cannot be denied; Canada has a rich and diverse pool of talent. The country is known for its well-educated workforce, strong educational institutions, our multicultural mosaic, and a commitment to innovation. Canadian talent has made significant contributions to a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, entertainment, and the arts.

Research conducted by entertainment experts PlayOJO examined the social media profiles of the most followed Canadian athletes to establish which star is the most influential on social media. What Instagram does is provide detailed analytics for sponsored posts, allowing you to track the performance of your campaigns. Sponsored posts allow you to reach a wider audience beyond your existing followers. Instagram’s algorithm may limit the organic reach of your posts, but sponsored content can appear in the feeds of users who don’t follow you, helping you gain more visibility.

Sponsored posts help build and reinforce brand awareness. Even if users don’t immediately engage with your content, they become more familiar with your brand, which can lead to future interactions or conversions. Influencers (the sports stars we are about to recognize) often rely on sponsored posts to monetize their Instagram presence. For brands, collaborating with influencers can be an effective way to leverage their established audiences and credibility.

The study revealed that Alphonso Davies is the highest-earning sports star from Canada, potentially earning up to $87,176 per sponsored Instagram post. The 22-year-old professional soccer player plays for Bayern Munich and the Canadian national team and has the highest Instagram following of over 5.4 million followers. Davies can earn up to $87,176 per sponsored Instagram post, the highest potential social media earnings of all Canadian athletes. This is $68,932 more than RJ Barnett’s Instagram earning post potential, who landed 10^th place on the list.

Retired MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre is in second place, has the second-highest following of over 4.4 million and has more followers combined than the bottom three of the top 10 most influential athletes. St-Pierre has a potential income of $70,584 per sponsored post and $91,664 per Instagram reel.

In third place is Ontario’s Tristan Thompson, who has played 12 seasons in the NBA. Thompson gains an average of 170,000 likes per post and has an earning potential of $64,736 per Instagram post, ranking him the third highest-earning Canadian athlete on Instagram.

The fourth most influential is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has the highest Instagram engagement rate of all the top 10 athletes, ranked at 18.49%. This puts Shai in fourth place despite having the fifth most followers. Shai is attracting the most likes per post out of all the Canadian sports stars, bringing in 422,000 likes on average. The 25-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder guard from Toronto can earn up to $42,432 per post.

Tennis player Genie Bouchard ranks in fifth spot, with 2.4 million followers. The tennis star can earn up to $38,352 per Instagram post. Bouchard became the first Canadian-born player to reach the final of a Grand Slam in 2014.

Basketball player Andrew Wiggins, who has signed a four-year contract with the Golden State Warriors, has landed in sixth place, with an earning potential of $35,360 per sponsored post and 2.2 million followers. Wiggins draws 50,900 likes on average per post, more than double the average for Genie Bouchard.

Following closely behind Andrew Wiggins with two million followers, in seventh place is WWE’s Adam Copeland from Orangeville, Ontario, better known by his ring name ‘Edge’. Copeland can earn up to $33,320 per Instagram post and $43,248 per Instagram reel.

In eighth place is 26-year-old Denver Nuggets player Jamal Murray who can earn $21,216 per sponsored Instagram post. Jamal has accumulated 1.3 million followers and 57,000 likes on average per post.

Toronto Blue Jays Baseball player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 24 years old and has 1.2 million followers. Guerrero Jr can receive up to $20,400 per Instagram post and $26,384 per Instagram reel.

Rounding off in tenth place is the sixth basketball player to make it on the list, RJ Barrett, with the potential to earn $18,224 per Instagram post. Barrett gains an average of 24,600 likes per post, one seventh the likes of first-place Alphonso Davie’s average.

A spokesperson for PlayOJO Casino commented on the findings, “It’s fascinating to see which Canadian players and sports have the most influence on social media and who has the opportunity to make significant earnings outside of their sport. Soccer has always been known for its global popularity, but it’s interesting to see the primary sport in the top 10 is basketball, and a range of sports, such as tennis and MMA, also making an appearance.    

It’s also fascinating to note that the top three in this list are made up of athletes who are around ten years apart in age, with Davies being 22 years old, Thompson being 32, and St-Pierre being 42 and how they are at such different stages of their careers – the presence they’ve built up through their sport has grown their influence and marketability not just in Canada but on a global stage.”