Key takeaways
- The ten examples span brand-produced comedy, personal storytelling, product design and community initiatives; they are not all self-produced athlete posts.
- Dunne’s Vuori partnership is a college-era NIL example, while McCain’s 2024 Amazon campaign followed his NBA draft selection.
- Under Armour announced its separation from Stephen Curry in November 2025, so the partnership needs historical framing.
- Use the examples to compare creative roles and formats; campaign visibility alone does not prove sales or brand impact.
Athlete partnerships can extend beyond a logo or a television spot. These ten examples show how brands have used humor, personal stories, product design and community projects with athletes.
These are historical creative references, not a ranking of campaign results or a list of currently active deals. Some are brand-produced campaigns; others involve athlete-led content or co-created products.
For an influencer marketing brief, first define the athlete’s role: spokesperson, storyteller, product collaborator or community partner.
The useful question is what the athlete contributes to the concept. Fame alone does not prove audience fit, sales impact or trust.
The notes below distinguish documented partnership details from creative lessons a brand can consider.
Blaze Pizza x LeBron James
In Blaze Pizza’s 2016 video, LeBron James plays “Ron,” a new employee serving customers. The scene turns a basketball star into an unexpected part of an everyday restaurant visit.
The creative lesson is to give the athlete a recognizable role and let the situation carry the humor. This example demonstrates a format, rather than proving a measurable increase in sales or trust.
Platform: Instagram, TikTok
Focus Area: Lifestyle, Entrepreneurship
Athleta x Simone Biles
Simone Biles partnered with Athleta in April 2021. The announcement focused on supporting women and girls and included plans for signature products and Athleta Girl collaborations.
Athleta’s 2021 Power of She campaign featured Biles and people in her support network. It presented her relationships and community alongside her athletic identity.
The creative lesson is to make a shared purpose concrete through the people and stories in a campaign, rather than relying on an abstract empowerment message.
Platform: Instagram, YouTube
Focus Area: Health & Wellness, Empowerment
State Farm x Travis Kelce
State Farm’s 2023 football campaign featured Travis Kelce alongside Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid. Its comic scenes placed familiar sports personalities in the brand’s established advertising world.
This is athlete participation in brand-produced comedy. Appearing in an advertisement does not establish that an athlete independently scripted, filmed or posted it.
For a brief, build a scene around the athlete’s personality and give the service a clear role in the joke.
Platform: TikTok, Instagram
Focus Area: Comedy, Lifestyle
Vuori x Olivia Dunne
Vuori introduced Olivia Dunne as an ambassador in 2021, during her LSU gymnastics career. This is a college-era NIL example; LSU announced 2025 as her final season.
The partnership connects athletic apparel with training and everyday clothing, offering content settings beyond competition footage.
Brands can study how the product fits a creator’s routine without assuming a particular sales lift. Campaign-level results would be needed to establish that outcome.
Platform: TikTok, Instagram
Focus Area: Fitness, Lifestyle
Under Armour x Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry and Under Armour built a long-running footwear and apparel collaboration, including Curry Brand. Under Armour announced their separation on November 13, 2025, with final Curry Brand releases scheduled through October 2026.
Treat this as a historical product collaboration, rather than an unchanged ongoing partnership. The creative distinction is an athlete’s involvement in a named product brand, beyond a single sponsored post.
Platform: Instagram, YouTube
Focus Area: Basketball, Motivation, Family
BodyArmor x Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka appeared in BODYARMOR’s 2020 Only You Can campaign. The brand also announced plans to refurbish tennis courts near where she grew up in Queens, as described in its bottling partner’s 2020 coverage. This example connects an athlete story with a community activity; it does not establish health benefits or audience trust.
Platform: Instagram, X (formerly Twitter)
Focus Area: Tennis, Community, Brand storytelling
Puma x Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt and PUMA discussed their 20-year partnership in a 2023 interview. The conversation covered his career, the brand relationship and life beyond competitive sprinting.
An interview gives a long-term partner room to reflect and tell stories that a product image cannot. The creative value is continuity: a brand can revisit a shared history without presenting every appearance as a new campaign.
Platform: Instagram, TikTok
Focus Area: Speed, Lifestyle, Fitness
ROXY x Chloe Kim
Chloe Kim’s collaboration with ROXY includes a co-designed snow collection. That gives the partnership a specific product expression connected to her sport and style.
For a snowwear brief, product design and use on the mountain offer clear visual material. Technical performance claims still need product evidence.
Featuring an athlete in existing apparel is different from involving her in a collection. Confirm the actual creative role before describing a partnership as co-creation.
Platform: Instagram, TikTok
Focus Area: Snowboarding, Travel, Fashion
Amazon x Jared McCain
Jared McCain participated in Amazon’s 2024 Dorm Roomz campaign after being selected in the 2024 NBA draft. In a July 2024 interview, he discussed the campaign and his transition from Duke to professional basketball.
The back-to-college concept drew on his recent college experience with a dorm-focused shopping guide. It should not be presented as evidence that he was still a college athlete when the campaign ran.
The creative lesson is to connect a shopping occasion with an experience the athlete can discuss. Keep the campaign date and career stage clear.
Platform: TikTok, Instagram
Focus Area: College-themed commerce, Lifestyle
Nike x Serena Williams
Serena Williams’s work with Nike includes the Serena Williams Design Crew, a design apprenticeship initiative launched in 2019 whose first collection arrived in 2021.
The program links her perspective with opportunities for emerging designers. It offers a different model from a sponsored post: the collection and the people who make it become part of the story.
Platform: Instagram, YouTube
Focus Area: Empowerment, Fashion, Motherhood
Choose the athlete’s creative role
These examples show athletes acting as comic performers, campaign storytellers, product collaborators and community partners. Choose the role that fits the objective and the athlete’s actual contribution.
Viral Nation’s content studio supports social content planning and production. A clear brief should specify the creative role, format and evidence needed to assess results.
Before reusing an example, confirm the date, current partnership status, usage rights and original campaign materials. Historical visibility is not a substitute for performance reporting.
Compare athlete partnership formats
| Format | Example | Creative lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Comic role | LeBron James and Blaze Pizza | Build a recognizable scene around the athlete. |
| Community story | Simone Biles and Athleta | Show the people behind the shared purpose. |
| Product collaboration | Chloe Kim and ROXY | Make the athlete’s design contribution clear. |
| Shopping occasion | Jared McCain and Amazon | Connect the product to a relevant life experience. |
| Design development | Serena Williams and Nike | Tell the story of the collection and its makers. |
Frequently asked questions
Are all ten examples athlete-created social campaigns?
No. The list includes brand-produced advertisements, interviews, product collaborations and community initiatives. An athlete’s appearance does not automatically establish that they wrote, filmed or published the content themselves.
Is Stephen Curry’s Under Armour partnership still unchanged?
No. Under Armour announced the separation in November 2025, with final Curry Brand releases scheduled through October 2026. Use the partnership as a historical product collaboration and check current announcements before describing its status.
Was Jared McCain still at Duke for Amazon’s Dorm Roomz campaign?
The 2024 campaign ran after McCain was selected in the NBA draft. Its back-to-college theme drew on his recent experience, so it should not be described as a current college-athlete partnership.
What can brands learn from these athlete partnerships?
Compare the athlete’s creative role, the product’s place in the story and the campaign’s format. Then define relevant measurement, confirm rights and availability, and avoid treating public visibility as proof of sales impact.
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