#19: Alex Kopilow & Fan Engagement, Value, and Fun: The New Era of Sponsored Sports Content

Alex Kopilow, sports marketing expert and founder of Sponcon Sports, joins The Sports Content Gameplan to explain why sponsored content succeeds or fails based on content quality, not sponsorship - and shares his “fan first, value, fun” framework. 

He highlights teams and creators he studies (including the Eagles on YouTube) and breaks down why sports organizations still separate content and revenue, arguing for cross-department collaboration and dedicated digital partnership roles. Kopilow outlines how to value and price digital inventory using reach, engagement, and opportunity cost, warns against selling undefined “post banks,” and recommends building a detailed digital inventory menu, improving measurement, and contextual reporting tied to partner goals. 

He shares strong partnership examples (Aston Martin x TikTok, Penguins x Dick’s, Epic Games and Raising Cane’s championship moments) plus trends like creators in sports marketing, athletes monetizing formats, YouTube strategy, and first-party data.