My Teammates Went to Work a Side Job. I Got a Package from a Sponsor.
I was sitting in my car counting boxes. One, two, three... they're all there. Meanwhile, my teammates headed to a warehouse gig for $8 an hour. Not me. And it's not because I have more luck or more talent. It's because I started thinking differently than most athletes.
Partnerships. That word sounds abstract to a lot of people. Like something for influencers or celebrities. But reality is different. Partnerships can work for any athlete who does something valuable today - and is willing to talk about it.
How It Usually Goes
Most athletes operate like this: training, school or work, crash in the evening. Not much money. If they want to earn more, they get a side job. Warehouse, restaurant, call center. A few bucks over the weekend, extra fatigue, and less energy for the actual sport.
It's not their fault. It's just what they know. Parents work, friends work - so they work too. But there's one fundamental problem: a side job keeps you in place. It gives you money to survive, but it doesn't move you forward.
A side job solves this month. A partnership can solve the next five years.
What a Partnership Actually Is
A partnership in the sports world means a company or brand pays you - or gives you products - in exchange for promoting or working with them. Could be sports equipment, supplements, clothing, tech. In return, you create content, mention them on social media, or simply represent their name.
Doesn't sound like rocket science, right? Yet 90% of athletes aged 15 to 25 don't even think about it.
What Companies Are Looking For
Companies don't necessarily want the biggest stars. They want people who have an authentic connection to sports and a real audience - even a small one. An athlete with 500 active followers who trust them is more valuable to a local company than a celebrity with a million followers who can't remember what they promoted last week.
They're looking for:
- Authenticity - you are who you say you are
- Consistency - you regularly create content
- Relevant topics - sports, performance, lifestyle
- Audience engagement - comments, shares, reactions
A junior hockey player from a small town can have all of this just as well as a pro from a top league.
How It Starts - From Zero
I used to tell myself that sports wouldn't support me financially and that besides sports, I didn't really know how to do anything else. And that was exactly the moment I started looking for a different path. Not a side job. Not leaving sports. But a way to stay in sports and earn at the same time.
The answer was simple: I started filming what I do. Training, prep, behind-the-scenes. No big productions. Phone, a few minutes a day, clips from the ice rink or the locker room. And gradually, people started reaching out - first followers, then companies.
Where to Start When You Have Nothing
You don't start by emailing Nike. That doesn't work. You start by building value. Here's how:
- Pick a platform - Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts are the fastest path to new people right now. One is enough.
- Film what you do - training, diet, mental prep, behind-the-scenes from competitions or games. People want to see the real life of an athlete.
- Be consistent - one video a week for three months does more than ten videos at once and then silence.
- Reach out to smaller companies - local sports shops, supplement makers, sports clothing brands. Propose a specific partnership, not a vague "it'd be cool to connect somehow."
- Show what you offer - put together a simple media kit: who you are, how many followers you have, what your topics are, what exactly you're offering in exchange for what.
The best time to start was a year ago. The second best time is today. Every month you wait is a month of content that could have existed but doesn't.
What It Gets You - Specifically
I'm not talking about Lamborghinis and beachfront villas. I'm talking about real things that are available to you right now through sports, if you start leveraging them.
Product partnerships - you get gear or supplements for free. You save money you'd otherwise pay out of pocket. For an athlete who spends $1,000+ a year on equipment and supplements, that's not a small amount.
Financial partnerships - companies pay for regular mentions, product reviews, or for you being their ambassador. You might start at $50 per post, but as you grow, so does the number.
Network of contacts - every partnership connects you with people in business who then recommend you further. This might be the most valuable thing of all.
And unlike a side job? All of this is built on you. On your name, your content, your relationships. A side job gives you money, but nobody remembers you for it. A partnership builds your reputation.
What's Stopping You from Starting
The most common excuse is: "I don't have enough followers." That's exactly the sentence that keeps you stuck. Followers won't come until you start creating content. You won't create content until you stop waiting for followers. It's a vicious circle that you break in exactly one way - just start, even without an audience.
Second excuse: "I don't know what to film." Film your training. Film how you bounced back from a loss. Film your daily routine. Film what you eat before a game. Film mistakes you make and what you learn from them. You have material every single day - the question is whether you see it.
The question isn't whether you have what it takes for partnerships or not. The question is when you'll stop waiting and start building.
Athletes Who Got It
They exist in every sport. A junior skier who films behind-the-scenes from training and partners with a local gear brand. A track athlete who shares her training plan and gets supplements for free. A hockey player from a lower league with 2,000 Instagram followers who gets approached by companies because he's authentic.
None of them waited until they were famous. They started with what they had. And they grew gradually.
Start Today
Concrete first step: grab your phone and film one video. Not perfect. Not edited. Just film what you're doing in sports right now. Post it as a Reel or Short. Do it again next week. And the week after that.
In three months you'll have content, in six months an audience, in a year your first partnership. This isn't a magic recipe - it's just consistency applied to something you already know well. Sports.
Your teammates go to side jobs. Or they don't have to. It's just about when you start thinking differently.
Want to know how to build a personal brand as an athlete from the ground up? Check out our article on Personal Branding for Athletes - we go deep, from your first post to your first partnership.