SportTechie’s Athletes Voice series features the views and opinions of the athletes who use and are powered by technology. SportTechie spoke to retired NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson about his new opportunity with the Fan Controlled Football League and how he built his own brand through social media.
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Chad Johnson is a retired six-time NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver. He played most of his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, before a one-year spell with the New England Patriots and a short career in the CFL. He was known for his entertaining antics both on and off the field—in 2008, he even changed his last name to “Ochocinco,” matching his jersey number 85, before switching back to Johnson in 2012.
CNBC named him its most influential athlete on social media in 2011, despite the fact he was nearing the end of his career and slowing his pace of catches and touchdowns. The following summer, though, having signed with the Miami Dolphins, Johnson was arrested on charges of domestic violence. He was released form the team, ending his NFL career.
Today, Johnson has 3.35 million followers on Twitter, 1.1 million followers on Instagram, and a growing audience of tens of thousands on Twitch, where he streams himself playing Call of Duty and FIFA. He’s an avid gamer and is a natural entertainer.
Those attributes will likely set him up well in his new role as a team owner and captain in the Fan Controlled Football League. The FCFL relies on fans to make play-by-play decisions and he will be tasked with leveraging his personality and influence to build an army of supporters.
Social Media
“It just gave me an outlet, a platform. It cut out the middleman, which was the media. Once I realized the importance of social media and allowing people to see the real me and not what the media perceived me to be, that was a gem.”
“There’s Twitter and Instagram, they’ve cut out the middleman so there’s no need to watch ESPN. Anything I say or feel, I can just tweet it out myself or put it out myself. It made everything authentic, which is why it was so great.”
The FCFL
“It’s a great concept with fans being able to control the outcome of the situation and having the chance to be a GM or the coach. It’s very futuristic and becoming of what could be the next big thing when it comes to sports. No one has a platform like this that allows fans to be in control of some facet of the game. It’s sort of like fantasy, but this is so much bigger than just playing fantasy because you can control the outcome. It’s going to catch on big.”
“I’m going to be an owner and my personality is going to come into play. I have a large following as it is already. They will follow and they will come. There’s interest in general in just being me, being one of the best marketers to ever play the game without the help of the NFL network. I know this will be a great thing, not just for me for them as well.”
“It’s about just being authentic. I’m not overly saturated out there in general so every time I’m doing something everyone becomes interested in it anyway. This is something people haven’t been able to do before.”
Life After Pro Football
“It’s about evolving—everything in life is about evolving. The way things are going now, everything is becoming technical. You have to be tech savvy in everything you do. When it comes to tech you might want to get your ducks in a row and understand it.”
“I’m a big gamer and I have a Twitch channel. It’s another outlet for those that game and like gaming. I like challenging people and showing a lot of people my personality and just having fun. I generate some income from it in general, but if you think about it that way you’re doing it wrong. The money comes when you’re having fun and loving what you do.”
#ChildPlease https://t.co/hMfGulI1jq
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) March 6, 2019
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