College athletes will now have the opportunity to be integrated into advertising campaigns across Audacy’s sports portfolio.
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Audacy, one of the nation’s largest audio content and entertainment companies, has announced a new partnership with MOGL, an athlete influencer tech platform, to integrate name, image and likeness opportunities into brand campaigns across its sports portfolio.
The collaboration allows brands advertising with Audacy to connect directly with MOGL’s network of more than 30,000 college athlete influencers. Using MOGL’s AI-powered platform, Audacy can match advertisers with athletes who align with campaign goals, while offering real-time reporting on performance and reach.
Connecting with Sports Fans
“This partnership with MOGL is a testament to our commitment to innovation, providing a powerful content-driven approach that benefits athletes, schools and our advertising partners,” said Michael Ferranti, senior vice president of national partnerships at Audacy. “Together, we’ll empower our clients to deliver authentic, high-impact campaigns that resonate with today’s fans and drive measurable brand outcomes.”
Audacy chief revenue officer Bob Philips explained that the company will use MOGL’s platform to help brands seamlessly integrate athletes into campaigns.
“What sets Audacy apart is how we activate those partnerships—leveraging our unmatched leadership in sports, the scale of our broadcast and digital sports platform, and our award-winning podcast network to maximize impact and deliver results.”
Philips added that the partnership reflects growing advertiser interest in NIL and college athlete influencers. “College athlete influencers are one of the fastest-growing segments, and brands are eager for authentic ways to connect with sports fans.”
Research from OpenSponsorship shows athletes have an average engagement rate of 5.6%, compared to 2.4% for a typical influencer. In addition, athletes can generate up to 7x return on ad spend.
The Athletes Poised to Succeed
So, which athletes are best positioned to take advantage of this opportunity?
“To best position themselves for success, it’s important that athletes keep an updated profile with skills, interests, favorite brands, and remain active by producing content on social media,” said MOGL CEO and co-founder Ayden Syal. “After athletes link their social accounts, MOGL’s matching algorithm automatically sends them personalized notifications when they are a fit for a campaign.”
Brands receive real-time data on social metrics, sponsorship activity, and audience breakdowns, in addition to seeing recent posts and more.
Immediate Integration Into Campaigns
Audacy’s sales staff will begin proactively pitching the new capability to brands, expanding the company’s broader sports marketing toolkit. Advertisers can now add athlete-driven NIL opportunities to campaigns that already span audio, digital, social, and influencer activations across Audacy’s platforms.
Audacy’s sports footprint includes 40 owned-and-operated sports stations, more than 160 sports streaming channels on the Audacy app, a sports podcast network featuring over 600 titles, and play-by-play partnerships with over 50 professional and collegiate teams. The company also produces the Infinity Sports Network and BetMGM Network and serves as the official audio and podcast partner of Major League Baseball.