Running Head: The Effects of Social Media in the nfl

The Effects of Social Media in the NFL

Hunter Hargrove, Alec Sobocinski, Neal Duggal, Kimberley Nelson

Texas Tech University

February 2016

Americas favorite pastime brought in 111.3 million viewers as they watched the New England Patriots fight back against the Atlanta Falcons resulting in a Patriots victory for Super Bowl LI creating history as one of the leagues greatest comeback stories (Pallotta, 2017). The large audience was partially due to the increase of social media in recent years, creating an environment that fully interacts with its fan. Social media allows NFL teams to build a respectable reputation, encourage fan- engagement and increase profits.

According to the official NFL website only 1.6 percent of college players make an NFL roster. College football is one of most viewed college sport and accumulates millions of viewers worldwide (Oates, 2009, p. 32). Once players conclude their time in the NCAA it is time to prepare for the NFL. Many colleges host pro days, which allows top players on each team to showcase themselves in front of prospective NFL teams. The biggest showcase is the NFL combine, which only a selected few from their respected position are invited too. The fortunate college players are invited to showcase their skills in front all 32 teams and the public during the combine. The NFL combine is publicly televised over a three-day period on ESPN, which is the largest sports channel on cable. The NFL tweets live during the event by posting times in the 40-yard dash as well as the bench press, which helps generates more viewers. As the draft inches closer the teams gather information about possible draft picks in a process known as social media recruiting (Oates, 2009, p. 33). Over the past ten years’ social media has grown into the largest source of news in the world. Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat, and Instagram are some of the social media that the NFL uses and looks for when they are looking at drafting a college recruit (Oates, 2009, p. 35). Many high school recruits lose their scholarship for posting things that they shouldn’t, costing them the chance to continue their athletic career. Current college players are still in jeopardy of being removed from the team for posting content that goes against the rules set by the university or losing the attention of prospective NFL teams during recruitment. Players could lose millions, fall in the draft pick or not drafted at all. Laremy Tunsil in the 2016 NFL draft, the offensive lineman from Ole Miss, dropped from the first overall pick to the 13th because a video surfaced of him smoking a bong prior to the NFL draft. Before social media this would have gone unnoticed and Tunsil would have received the first overall slot value, but since social media is current, present and worldwide this made teams became weary of drafting him. The fear of drafting Tunsil is due to the fact that NFL teams want to build respectable and worthy brand names, the carelessness and juvenile behavior that was displayed in that video would have been a negative reflection on the NFL and the draft. When entering a professional atmosphere image is important, companies do not wish to see immature and embarrassing post that can harm the companies name. When a company’s image is damaged it can destroy fan base and potential finical profits, that is why setting up guidelines and rules helps protect a company.

When looking at the NFL’s social media policy it clearly defines what a player can and cannot do, with respect to social media, before, after and during a game. “The use of social media or networking sites by coaches, players, and other club football operations personnel is prohibited on game day, including halftime, beginning ninety (90) minutes before kickoff until after the post-game locker room is open to the media and players have first fulfilled their obligation to be available to the news media who are at the game” (National Football League, 2014, p. 39). While this social media policy is clearly laid out there have been many violations of this policy since the creation of the rules regarding social media usage. One of the most recent violations of the social media policy was Antonio Brown, of the Pittsburg Steelers, was caught live streaming a post-game locker room meeting on Facebook. He was in clear violation of the leagues policy because the incident occurred moments after the game ended and the media was not allowed into the locker room.  This resulted in an internal organization fine toward Antonio Brown of ten-thousand-dollars. The NFL is trying to promote their brand in a way that will not harm their coverage or contracts with the bigger TV networks. If there wasn’t a restriction on social media, then it would be reasonable to assume that the players and teams would use social media to give fans an inside look. Various sports source often covers the news posts, tweets, etc. of NFL players, but very few question the leagues social media policy. This is because the NFL is in contract with the employers of the analysist or columnists that could criticize the leagues policy. In other words, it’s an easy way to lose your job. On the other hand, NFL players have not held back their criticism of the NFLs rules and regulations. While a common saying goes “all press is good press” actually held true in the recent case of “deflategate” in the NFL. Tom Brady (the alleged violator in deflategate) took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the NFLs punishment for him. “I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me. I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.” Deflategate added another layer to the past NFL season; it resulted in the one of the best-rated super bowl since the inception of the NFL and increased fan engagement (DiLisi, 2015, p. 2).

Snapchat and the NFL signed a lucrative agreement that allows for active fan-engagement at the football game and a new marketing outlet. Every week, a new story will appear, these stories cost advisers around $7 million dollars per ad (Tom Huddleston, 2016, p. 2). This snap-story will also allow for a fans to view uploaded recording from different games from stadiums all around the country. It’s important to note that, while different “snap stories” from around the country can be viewed, fans that are at the game have exclusive feature that are only present in that very location. “NFL fans on Snapchat will also be able to use Snapchat Geofilters customized for each of the league's 32 teams, allowing users to access team-specific content based on their proximity to NFL stadiums, practice facilities and other venues” (Tom Huddleston, 2016, p. 1). It allows fans who are at games to interact with other fans as well as players. Creating a new platform that allows fans to interact and get involved in games allows for a marketing opportunity. 15 million people viewed NFL’s trail run of their new partnership during the 2015 draft pick in Chicago, from there the fan base has only grown (Addady, 2015). A main part of this new Snapchat launch is also “NFL on Discover”. This provides a way for fans and sports officials to interact with the live football game as it is happening. This feature also will help promote football stadiums sales in a unique way, by identifying different “hotspots” throughout the duration of the football game. For example, if a story is selected, it will present option of where to find affordable food in the section closest to the fan (Tom Huddleston, 2016, p. 1). Enticing fan with a new way to post to social media is a profitable market because it allows for the opportunity to advertise and to encourage interaction on a more personal level. When the National Football League humanizes their brand through means of social media, it allows the fans to feel more connected and willing to spend money on tickets and merchandise.

Snapchat is a recently adopted form of social media compared to Facebook and Twitter, however, the reason for having any form of “social media is for an increase in profit” (Vitelli, 2013, p. 1). Social media outlets allow fans to tweet players directly when they do not perform as well, hurting the fans fantasy football score or when replacement refs make bad calls costing a team the win. When fans have to the option to express their emotions in regards to a play or a call is satisfying, the fan believes that they have stronger connection with the team when they are able to directly message players (Vitelli, 2013, p. 4). In 2013, the NFL cautiously proceeded to get involved in social media because the opportunity to market was greater than the fear of what players might say jeopardizing the brand. As mentioned earlier, the NFL has strict guidelines on when players can post and what they are allowed to post, so when teams were venturing into this new media, a debate occurred on if they were going to allow players to tweet (Vitelli, 2013, p. 2). The official Facebook and Twitter pages are used more frequently for advertising and promoting new merchandise, rather than players personal accounts. The personal account continues to influence sales because people enjoy belonging to a group or an organization, so when players interact with fans it builds that relations and fan begin to use “we” and “my team” (Vitelli, 2013, p. 4). Each individual team takes precautions to protect their name sake as well; the Philadelphia Eagles scan all social media account for potential draft picks, so when events like Tunsil occur the Eagles can avoid drafting athletes that would cast their teams in a negative light. The Steelers also monitor all social media account for their athletes. Image and perception is important and players can quickly tarnish the well establish name by posting before they think (Vitelli, 2013, p. 5).

The NFL through social media creates a strong community among fans, for examples the Dallas Cowboys were going through a losing streak but their fan base did not wavier. The Cowboys had a well-established organization, “America’s Team” branding, and resided in Texas, these three aspects made them the most profitable team for the League. Their use of social media kept their fans engaged, entertain and encouraged that this season “Would be their season!” (Vitelli, 2013, p. 4). The influence that social media has had on the National Football League is enormous, it allows fans to remain faithful and invested in each team and as well as maintaining the quality brand of the NF by enforcing rules and guidelines.

References

DiLisi, G. A. (2015, September). Bouncing Back From “Deflategate”. Retrieved from The Physics Teacher: http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1119/1.4928347

National Football League. (2014, 08 04). League Policies for Players 2014. Retrieved from NFL policies: http://thesportsesquires.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NFL-Player-Policies.pdf

Oates, T. P. (2009). New Media and the Repackaging. Sociology of Sport Journal, 31-49. Retrieved from Sociology of Sport Journal: http://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/ssj.26.1.31

Pallotta, F. (2017, 2 7). More than 111 million people watched Super Bowl LI. Retrieved from CNN Media: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/06/media/super-bowl-ratings-patriots-falcons/

Tom Huddleston, J. (2016, August 03). There’s a New Way to Get NFL Content on Snapchat This Season . Retrieved from Fortune: Tech: http://fortune.com/2016/08/03/nfl-snapchat-discover/