The Influencer Bowl: Why YouTube’s NFL Broadcast Sucked
Yesterday’s NFL game on YouTube should have been a chance to showcase the platform’s unique ability to bring the sport to a new audience. Instead, what we got felt less like a football broadcast and more like an awkward social experiment in influencer marketing. It might as well have been called The Influencer Bowl.
Rather than leaning into people who know and love football, YouTube went all-in on big-name creators. The result was a pre-game show that was a straight-up cringefest. YouTubers are good at making their own videos in their own style, but put them in front of a live sports broadcast and the cracks quickly begin to show.
To me, it’s the difference between personality and charisma. Give these creators a script, unlimited takes, and weeks of editing, and they’ll deliver an entertaining video filled with personality. But strip away the safety net (no script, no postproduction, just one shot to get it right) and most of them don’t have the natural charisma that it takes to be “in the moment.” Instead of building excitement for the game, the whole production underscored just how out of place these personalities were in this setting.
Aimless Influence
Take Michelle Khare, for example. Known for her challenge-based content, she was plugged into a recycled version of her usual format. The problem is, she’s already made a full video about training like an NFL player. A more creative use of her talents would’ve been to simply have her host a unique football skills challenge, where the fans in Brazil can try their hand at various drills. It wouldn’t have been groundbreaking, but it still would have fit her brand without having to watch her do a challenge that she’s already done in what felt like a half-assed imitation of her own channel.
It also featured Marques Brownlee. He’s brilliant when it comes to tech, but his “football tech explainer” segment was about as surface-level as it gets. He focused on the helmet radios (something that every regular NFL viewer already knows about) and explained them in a way that felt almost insultingly dumbed down. It wasn’t insightful, it wasn’t fresh, it wasn’t even particularly entertaining. On his own channel, Marques can take the most complex gadgets and make them approachable. But here, his segment came off as filler content; a watered-down attempt to shoehorn him into the broadcast.
And then there’s MrBeast. Yeah, he’s the biggest YouTubers in the world, but his presence here was pure gimmick. He contributed nothing meaningful to the game or the broadcast, functioning like the NFL equivalent of stunt casting an A-list celebrity in a movie just to slap their name on the poster.
Deestroyed Potential
Ironically, the only creator on the lineup who actually has relevant football knowledge, Deestroying, was completely underutilized. This is a guy who built a career around football content, and yet the broadcast never tapped into his insights.
As a well-known kicker, he should have been the one breaking down the new kickoff rules. Even though the format has technically been in place for a year, adjustments have been made, and many people are still getting used to it. Having Deestroying dive into the details and offer up his own thoughts would have at least given him purpose that actually fit his skill set.
And then there was the chaotic “fire drill” field goal at the end of the half. It was one of those moments where Deestroying would have been the perfect person to cut to. A moment where a live reaction and informed commentary could have elevated the broadcast. Instead, it seemed like he was relegated to hype-man duties on the sideline, leaving the audience with nothing of substance. It was a waste of his experience and personality, and a glaring missed opportunity.
YouTube’s broadcast wasn’t a celebration of football; it was a showcase of their biggest names awkwardly dropped into a setting they had no business in. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting with new formats or trying to attract a younger audience. But if YouTube really wants to make NFL broadcasts work, it has to start with the game itself.
