The role sports play in Gen Z's lives

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Welcome to Morning Consult’s A to Gen Z. In this biweekly letter, we put the headlines you’re reading about Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials into context with our high frequency survey data to help you better understand exactly how and why they’re spending their time — and their dollars. 

Ahead of the Super Bowl, we’ve got fresh insights on how Americans are engaging with professional sports in all sorts of contexts. We’re diving into this data from a Gen Z perspective today, exploring how the young cohort leads the way on several sports fandom fronts. 

🏟️📈Sporting event attendance is on the rise, thanks in part to Gen Z 🏟️📈

One of the most important indicators of interest in sports is, of course, game or live event attendance — and Morning Consult Intelligence data shows that this has been trending upward for every major consumer group since early 2023. 

Along with millennials and men, Gen Z adults now boast the highest rate of regular game attendance: Roughly 1 in 5 (18%) go to live sporting events two to four times per year.

Post-pandemic eagerness is undoubtedly driving some of this movement. But when considered in context with other Morning Consult research highlighting the growing reach of major leagues from the WNBA to the NFL, a picture of a country on a clear sports kick — led by young people — is painted.

For this reason, brands should consider showing up at live sporting events, whether through tenured partnerships or one-off activations, a near-imperative moving forward. 

▶️ To learn more about the data that powers this research, reach out to your Morning Consult contact or email [email protected]. 

📲🏀🏈 YouTube is Gen Zers’ go-to destination for sports content online📲🏀🏈

As social feeds fill with artificial intelligence-produced “slop,” sports-related content has emerged as a major attraction — and YouTube is sports fans’ preferred platform for consuming it.

That said, Gen Z sports fans and sports fans who are women also gravitate toward TikTok and Instagram in sizable numbers, closely mirroring their overall social media usage. Plus, off-the-field content — like WAG (a catch-all term for the spouses or partners of professional athletes) “get-ready-with-me” videos — tends to thrive on these platforms, offering sports storytelling opportunities for a wide swath of brands.

▶️ To learn more about Gen Zers’ ever-evolving behavior, head here.

🛍️⛹️For Gen Z, athletes are influencers too 🛍️⛹️

While Gen Z is known for its love of (and desire to be) influencers, the generation loves athletes even more. 

Approximately 3 in 4 (74%) Gen Z adults said they find athletes either “very” or “somewhat” likable, which is double-digits higher than the share who said the same about social media influencers (62%).

Beyond their general likability, athletes are proven product marketers — especially for young audiences. Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults said they have made a food and beverage (19%) or apparel (15%) purchase within the past six months because of a professional athlete endorsement, and these figures are notably higher among Gen Z adults.

1 in 5 Gen Z adults (20%) have also recently made an athlete-induced beauty purchase, a figure that will likely rise alongside the popularity of women’s sports. Brands like e.l.f Cosmetics, Charlotte Tilbury and Glossier have found success in being prolific (and early) sponsors of women’s sports leagues and female athletes — and by incorporating broader themes of sports fandom into their marketing.  

▶️ Download our full 2025 Sports Marketing Guide here. 

What Else We’re Reading

• NFL Fans' Favorite Brands (Morning Consult) 
• Why Parents Turn to Food Influencers (Morning Consult)
• Kids Are Having Birthday Parties at Sephora Now (Business of Fashion) 
• Inside the NFL’s gaming strategy and how it’s bringing a virtual tailgate to the Super Bowl (Ad Age)
• The TikTok ban is reshaping creator recruitment and agency best practices on social media (Digiday)
• Gen Z is more fed up with work than ever (Business Insider)

Upcoming

Feb. 5 — Report: The State of Apparel. This report explores how dampened consumer spending is disrupting brand loyalty, and contributing to the rise of low-cost fast fashion e-commerce brands. Receive it directly in your inbox by signing up for Retail alerts.

Feb. 11 — Webinar: The Intersection of Brands and Sports. Join us at 12pm ET on 2/11 for a discussion of our recent research on how brands can tap into consumers’ growing enthusiasm for athletics to inform resonant styles, products and content. Sign up here.