The old guard of baseball has given way to a fresh new crop of young talent. Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, and Bryce Harper are leading the charge to re-energize the baseball fandom and bring the fun back to our national pastime. Harper ranks the highest in MVPindex score, which is a combination of an athlete’s reach (audience size), engagement (how fans interact with content), and conversation (overall web sentiment). Harper is currently ranked 4th in Major League Baseball on MVPindex.
After winning the 2015 MLB NL MVP award, Harper confirmed a reported 10-year contract extension with Under Armour with a post on his Instagram that has received over 46,000 likes. Details of the contract were not confirmed by either party, but it is rumored that it could be the largest MLB endorsement deals made with a player.
So, how does Harper’s social media engagement value stack up against top athletes from other major brands in the league? MVPindex took a look at the top athletes for apparel brands in MLB since January 1 to see who is bringing in the most social value and impressions for their brand sponsors.
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In that time period Bryce Harper has posted 26 times to his social media accounts for Under Armour, bringing more than $1 million in social engagement value for the brand. When stacked up against the other “youth movement” players and their brand sponsors, Harper is the clear winner in social media engagement value:
-Mike Trout – Nike: 9 posts, $385,679.70 engagement value
-Kris Bryant – Adidas: 2 posts, $58,731.60 engagement value
Of the three platforms where Harper posts, Instagram has proven to be his biggest asset. His 10 posts for the brand since January 1 have driven more than 40 million impressions and over 307K total likes. Harper’s top post on Instagram for Under Armour this year showcases why he’s such a valuable ambassador for the brand on social media, as he reinforces the Team UA family brand watching Cam Newton play in the Super Bowl with Steph Curry. All three reigning MVP’s belong to the Under Armour family, and the social media synergy created from the combination of these influencers lead to more than 8.7 million impressions and 67.5K total likes.
A photo posted by Bryce Harper (@bharper3407) on
Two out of three of Harper’s most valuable posts for Under Armour promoted his upcoming signature cleat the “HarperOne”. This will be Under Armour’s first player signature cleat, and will compete with Nike’s Trout line which has been on the market for 2 years and includes a cleat as well as a “turf” shoe. The “HarperOne” is set to release the week of the MLB All-Star game on July 15th.
This year, Harper has accounted for over 55% of Under Armour’s promotional value from sponsored MLB athletes. Under Armour’s roster includes Noah Syndergaard, Brandon Phillips, Clayton Kershaw, and Buster Posey. The closest competitor in terms of value brought to Under Armour is Brandon Phillips at $387,398.40 of engagement value.
Having noted athletes like Steph Curry, Jordan Spieth, Cam Newton, and Bryce Harper on Team UA, Under Armour has formed a formidable team of brand ambassadors who are united behind their banner and seem to authentically enjoy the products they’re promoting.