This week’s Club Sportico essay focuses on the hottest social media website for pro athletes: LinkedIn.
College and pro stars are increasingly using the site to earnestly update their networks of contacts on accomplishments on and off the field of play. LinkedIn says the number of pro athletes on the platform has grown 31% since 2021. Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones is one of the most active.
A Stanford grad and former G Leaguer, Jones posts at least twice a week, recapping the team’s performance and sharing learnings from the various networking visits he schedules in between games.
It turns out that LinkedIn is only the public tip of Jones’s networking spear.
Here are a couple excerpts of the essay ✍️:
He keeps a separate database of his connections, and when the team travels, the 24-year-old often finds time to meet with local founders or investors. In Washington this week, he took an intro chat with defense tech company Shield AI before handling his own defense-first duties in a 107-97 win over the Wizards on Thursday. “Typically the travel day … I kind of have that whole afternoon to go see a company,” Jones said.
In Boston, he stopped by the Harvard Club the morning of Denver’s game against the Celtics. A previous visit in town afforded the opportunity to tour robotics company Boston Dynamics’ headquarters.
This year, his on-court role has developed too. A litany of Denver injuries thrust Jones into a starting spot for 28 games. He’s still on a two-way contract, but has the potential to secure a more permanent NBA deal. And yet, he keeps posting.
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He’s not the only athlete sharing updates on the world’s largest professional networking site. Lewis Hamilton has 7-time F1 champ listed among his honors and awards. Steph Curry posts about his non-profit work (though he needs to update his status at Under Armour). Before he becomes the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, Fernando Mendoza was invited to be a Linkedin Top Voice. Outfielder Stone Garrett even used the site to get a big league call-up. The company says the number of pro athletes using its platform has grown 31% since 2021.
“They are not just great athletes, they are really people who are thinking critically about their performance, about what it means to get ahead, and people love hearing that,” LinkedIn senior director and executive editor for global editorial Laura Lorenzetti said. “That helps everybody think about their own performance, and it’s really a place for [athletes] to thrive and build a community.”
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