There aren’t many content creators planning to attend every “Monday Night Football” game this season, but it’s on Jack Settleman’s to-do list.
The 26 year old designer thinks he’ll fall about $15,000 below the $50,000 budget he’s allotted to himself and a friend to watch all 17 regular-season games, broadcast across the family of platforms Walt Disney Co.
“I’m a big believer in the idea that the best content for social media is at a live sporting event,” Settleman said ahead of his Dec. 5 trip to Tampa Bay, Fla., where he watched the quarterback. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Tom Brady. orchestrating a 13-point comeback win over the New Orleans Saints in the final minutes of the game.
Settleman founded SnapBack Sports in 2017, originally a single sports-themed Snapchat account that has since grown into his broader digital sports and creator brand, encompassing a dozen sports-themed shows on Snapchat – half of which he hosts himself.
He is also a digital host for MSG Networks and co-founder of SnapBack Agency, a management company that works with digital creators and influencers. In its first year, the agency brokered $1.5 million worth of deals for its clients, he said.
SnapBack Sports separately recorded $1.3 million in revenue in 2022 through deals with ticketing platform SeatGeek Inc., tech company Dapper Labs Inc., and fantasy sports app Underdog, among others. SnapBack’s three Snapchat accounts, one of which is betting-themed, collectively have more than 2 million followers.
“He’s the king of Snapchat for sports,” said Doug Bernstein, senior vice president of digital audience strategy for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, parent organization of the youth-focused brand Bleacher Report, which has featured Settleman on some of its shows.
Settleman, a native of Owings Mills, Maryland, spoke to Morning Consult about the origins of “SnapBack Mondays,” the untapped potential to reach Gen Z fans and what sports leaders should watch out for in 2023. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
You attend every match of “Monday Night Football” this season. Tell me about this initiative, its origins and its objectives.
I worked at Action Network a few years ago and had seen someone watch 30 NBA games in 30 days and try to get on the Jumbotron every game. I thought to myself, “Could I travel and attend a sporting event every day for a year? You might be able to get Airbnb or a hotel to sponsor, a car sponsor, a gym. You could sell there. You could get a ticketing and sports betting sponsor. It was the big idea. I started mapping it for a few months, then COVID hit, then coming out of COVID, I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend. It was out of the question that I could convince her.
This is where the idea of ”SnapBack Mondays” was born. This is a condensed version of the original plan. What we are trying to accomplish is threefold. Can we make content go viral so more people hear about us and SnapBack? The idea is that we don’t have to be at ESPN, who has the rights [to broadcast the games], but we can go and create and tell the story of what it’s like to be at a “Monday Night Football” game in all those cities. Can we sell against this and be profitable? We manage to do it.
It’s about the importance of going out for live sports. I’m a big believer in the idea that the best content for social media is found at a live sporting event. We do these fan meetings at games where we take pictures with people at halftime and meet maybe 50 people every week. It adds up over time. This has always been SnapBack Sports’ thesis. I’ve been responding directly to kids for five years now – it creates fans for life. After meeting 50 people a week for 17 weeks, we’ll have over 800 lifelong fans. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when you have that many super fans, you can directly market them.
What else did you discover during the weekly “Monday Night Football” experience?
The difference in how each club embraces us has been really interesting. Some teams have no interest in working together, while others will go all the way to custom jerseys, pitch-level passes, player interviews. It’s really interesting to see how each team thinks about social and how content is captured.
How do you view Snapchat, as well as other platforms like Instagram and Twitter?
The next generation lives on Snap. It’s the only platform where you’re not constantly filled with negativity. You go to Twitter and read the replies and quote the tweets, it really lifts your mood. The same thing happens in the Instagram and TikTok comment sections. Since Snap doesn’t have a comments section, there isn’t that negativity constantly surrounding it.
The other thing about Snap is that they still have a place on the app for your friends that isn’t mixed in with the general content. I loved Instagram because I saw my friends’ stories or the only photo posted every three weeks. Now if you scroll through Instagram, it’s influencer, content creator, brand, influencer, content creator. I don’t see anything my friends post anymore. Snap still holds. Snap also has this little-known secret about its Snap shows, which are high revenue earners for brands that people have absolutely no idea about. The negative side is that there is no virality on Snapchat because the content never really leaves the platform.
What can professional sports leagues and teams do best to reach Gen Z?
Work on getting fans into stadiums, but at a more affordable price. For some leagues, like the NFL, it’s so expensive. An NFL game for a couple can cost $200 to enter the stadium. Then you want to treat yourself, buy a jersey, get a T-shirt, then the price goes up to maybe $400. That’s fine for a one-time experience, but then you’re making it a one-time experience. Is it repeatable?
Every team definitely needs to hire a personality to be consistently on-point. It connects so much more deeply with a fanbase. I would quadruple on Snapchat. This platform is so attractive. The reason we’re so successful connecting with Teams is that they’re happy to let us take over their Snapchat for the day. They don’t have the resources to spend time there.
Where is there still untapped potential for the industry?
If I was creating a strategy for a team or a league, I would dominate YouTube. I would flood YouTube with highlights from my team or my sport, analysis, funny clips. Then I would find people to stream because there is nothing more powerful than a live audience. We saw it with [former NFL punter and sports media personality] Pat McAfee. It has 30,000 people listening live. If he created a website and said “click this button” he would get 15,000 clicks on the spot. We have seen why it is so valuable. I would let the streamers offer a different point of view. Amazon tried it with the show Dude Perfect, and they missed the mark, but it was a good try.
I would also create a great in-stadium fan experience for this younger generation, even if that means making sure every NFL stadium has perfect WiFi – it’s so crucial. My first question when I go to a stadium is: “What is your Wi-Fi connection? I’m still a little nervous. I can’t post content. I can’t text my friends. I can’t follow on Twitter.
How would you describe Gen Z’s relationship with sports?
The most common thing I hear is “Why would I ever, ever go to a football game at 1 p.m. on Sunday?” Why would you leave your couch, spend money, it takes hours to get there, it’s expensive to do it, I can’t keep up with my fantasy team, I can’t bet, sometimes it’s cold . You can sit on your couch and have everything you need – you can have your laptop, you can have RedZone, you can track it all.
By the way, if you were to go there, unless you spend an exorbitant amount of money, you are also sitting at the top, so the view is not good. You don’t understand the comment. If a game happens and it’s disputed, I don’t know if it’s a good call or not, unless I go on Twitter.
The fan experience isn’t great at a lot of stadiums. A majority of people who don’t go to the games, I think, have no interest because they won’t have a great experience. And it’s not considered a form of entertainment, when that’s really what the whole gaming experience should be.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said recently that what keeps him most awake at night is how the sports network can reach “younger audiences” and “be more relevant to young people.” What is your reaction when you hear that?
My first reaction is that I hope ESPN comes to buy SnapBack Sports because we are talking to younger fans. My second reaction is that ESPN will do nothing to talk to kids and listen to what they want. ESPN may be doing some research, but no one on ESPN’s social media team will be tasked with asking DM kids, “What do you like about our content?” Do you spend more time on YouTube or Twitch? »
Right now I’m watching Fox Sports 1 and [former soccer star and current World Cup analyst] Alexis Lalas is in a suit. No kid cares more about a costumed commentator. It’s a lifestyle, it’s a streetwear brand. No one is aware of it because they are older decision makers. In fact, talk to the 23-year-old social media manager or marketer who understands what kids are doing and what they want.
What do you predict for the sports industry in 2023 through digital and social media? And after?
Switch to long content. Quick attention is only the top of the funnel, but streaming, YouTube, and podcasting are what will convert creators. Creators will have to create businesses. They already have the audience to market to. It’s a complete reversal of the old way of doing things. A coffee business usually builds a great product and then finds customers to market to. But “big cat” [Barstool Sports personality Dan Katz] already had a large built-in following and just launched a coffee brand to sell to its fans.
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