• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, October 8, 2025

XFL’s Social Media Stokes Fan Demand For More Football

  • The XFL is employing a two-pronged approach to promote its players and rules.
  • One week after the Super Bowl isn’t too soon, McKinsey study finds.
xfl-social-media
Photo Credit: XFL Live Stream

Launching less than a week after the Super Bowl, the XFL is looking to harness the fan excitement for more football on social media.

During the NFL playoffs in January, the XFL added nearly 600,000 followers to its social media channels. In the 48 hours following Super Bowl LIV, it pulled in an additional 200,000 to 300,000 followers. XFL has more than 226,500 and 224,500 followers on Twitter and Instagram, respectively. 

“In just a couple short days, we’re kicking off and we’re going to be playing football on days and times when people are used to watching football – and we have a great platform to do it,” Fred Harner, senior vice president of content and media, said. 

As the XFL has built towards its season opener on February 8, Harner and his team have used a two-pronged approach to its digital and social strategy. 

The first step has been to educate football fans on what the league is and what makes it different. 

This includes social media coverage around announcements like the XFL’s logo and team name reveals in August and uniform unveilings in December. Weeks before the league’s first game, it also released a series of vignettes detailing its rules, which Harner claims has seen success across all of its platforms, especially YouTube.

“I saw it as a great opportunity to inform and educate and entertain an audience that’s hungry for more football,” Harner said. “It was really a blank slate, and I think as somebody that’s been in content for a long time, to be able to create rather than jump into something that’s been established for years was just really exciting to me.”

Despite the XFL never having taken an official snap, the league is seeing growth across a variety of social media channels. 

Already, the league boasts an average engagement rate of nearly 9%, with Instagram alone reaching 14%. According to influencer marketing platform Scrunch, an average engagement rate between 1% and 3.5% on Instagram is considered “good.”

TikTok is also generating social media interest for the league. Since launching its account on Dec. 13, the league has accumulated more than 58,600 followers and nearly 730,000 likes on the ByteDance-owned app. 

READ MORE: ABC/ESPN To Show XFL Betting Lines On-screen

The league’s following is growing by roughly 1,000 followers per day, Harner said, and is 34% female heading into the Feb. 8 season opener – significantly higher than its other social media platforms.

“We’re starting to reach a new fan base and I think we’ll have new opportunities to create content appropriate for it,” Harner said. “It’s still really early days for us on TikTok, but we’ve been pleased so far.”

The second piece of the XFL’s social strategy focuses on the league’s most important element: the on-the-field product. Fielding big-time former college football names like Cardale Jones, Aaron Murray and ex-Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops gives the XFL a chance to reintroduce them to fans. 

“Football fans don’t stop being football fans when the Super Bowl is over, and the XFL will fill the void for elite-level highlights, competition, and regional rivalries,” Mason Bates, account director for sponsorships and content at Mindshare, said.

“The league and teams have harnessed that momentum into creative pieces, smartly placing some of their most famous athletes and coaches, who are well-known college football stars, at the center of a lot of their digital and social communications,” Bates added.

There’s also apparent interest from football fans to keep the sport alive post-Super Bowl. While some question the XFL’s decision to debut six days following Super Bowl LIV, a recent study commissioned with Mckinsey & Company showed that roughly 38 million people want to keep watching football after the NFL season ends.

READ MORE: Sportsbooks Lukewarm on Early XFL Betting Potential

“The NFL news cycle is at its slowest point in the weeks after the Super Bowl, and football fans want more than the off-field speculation that leads into the NFL Draft,” Bates said. “The XFL is smartly harnessing fan excitement for more football, which should truly help them capture attention.”

While there’s still uncertainty around the gridiron product, Harner said he thinks that the XFL’s high engagement numbers on social media show that fans are eager – and ready – for more football.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Feb 15, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks in a press conference during All Star Saturday Night ahead of the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center.

Silver Says Free Highlights Are an Issue As NBA Begins $77B Deal

Silver called basketball a “highlight-based sport.”
People congregate at Turning Point Headquarters in Phoenix after news that the founder, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a rally in Utah on Sept. 10, 2025.

Panthers Staffer, Suns Reporter Fired for Charlie Kirk Posts

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday.

CFB Field-Storming: ACC and SEC Schools Fined This Season

The ACC announced a new fine system in July, joining the SEC.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
Mar 19, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; USA shortstop Trea Turner (8) throws to first base for an out during the first inning at LoanDepot Park.

Fox Picks Up Media Rights to 2026 World Baseball Classic

The network will repeat its role in the international baseball tournament.
Sep 27, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Josh McCray (2) runs against Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green (41) and defensive back Keon Sabb (3) in the second half at Sanford Stadium.
exclusive
October 2, 2025

College Football Viewership Is Up Double Digits. Here’s Why

Average game viewership is up by more than 10% so far.
October 6, 2025

Mark Sanchez Charged With New Felony in Indianapolis Case

The broadcaster and ex-NFL quarterback faces up to six years in prison.
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
The NBC Sports broadcast team works Michigan State's football game against Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
October 2, 2025

NBC Sports, Peacock Stay on YouTube TV With Long-Term Deal

The broad-based agreement keeps NBC channels with the key distributor.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) throws the ball during the first half of a NCAA college football game against Alabama in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
October 1, 2025

Alabama-Georgia Draws 10.4M Viewers, Drives Record CFB Season Pace

ABC drew 10.4 million viewers for Alabama-Georgia.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) pulls down a touchdown reception against Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) in the fourth quarter during their football game Sunday, November 13, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.
September 24, 2025

Packers-Cowboys Game Is Getting Super Bowl–Like NBC Treatment

The network will bring its pregame show to Dallas.
Sep 18, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) reacts as the Fever defeat the Atlanta Dream during game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park.
September 19, 2025

Fever Upset of Dream Brings Ratings Boost to WNBA Semis

The Indiana Fever will face the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals.