"If men want to give me money, why wouldn't I accept it? I appear in a bikini or exercising, that's all I do. I don't offer sexual content, I don't appear naked. When the media see OnlyFans, they automatically associate you with porn, but there are many levels on OnlyFans," explained American tennis player Sachia Vickery this week after being eliminated from the US Open qualifying tournament. At 30 years old, her career has been declining for a few seasons; she reached number 73 in the world and is currently ranked 557th in the WTA, but she can still continue playing, traveling to tournaments, and supporting her team. "It's good for me to earn good money outside of tennis. It gives me a lot of freedom and helps finance my career," Vickery defended, and she is not alone.
More and more tennis players and athletes, in general, are earning extra income through OnlyFans, a social network focused on adult content, from erotic photos to explicit videos and various fetishes. Some have joined on their own, while others have been approached by the platform itself, which has signed them to sponsorship contracts. But the result is the same: a new source of income and some controversy.
Because OnlyFans and its nearly 400 million users can offer a lot of money to athletes, but it can also close doors for them. And that is terrifying in the boardrooms. In tennis, for example, luxury sponsors like Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, or Moët & Chandon are unlikely to want to be associated with that social network, which is why the ATP had to intervene last year. Tennis players like the Spanish Pedro Martínez or the French Alexandre Müller, sponsored by OnlyFans, cannot display their logo on their shirts, and the circuit reviews their content on social media for possible sanctions. If they cross the line, they will be punished. "I know I am still a professional tennis player," Vickery accepted.
"These types of sponsorships can be conflicting. When sponsoring, all brands study the other sponsors that the athlete, team, or event has. Some may not want to share space with OnlyFans. And that can lead to claims because obviously, these things are foreseen in the contracts," analyzes Carlos Cantó, CEO of the marketing company SPSG Consulting, who points out that the controversy is not new. Not at all. "A few years ago, Playboy also sponsored some athletes, entered into motorcycling, and had a similar conversation," Cantó recalls, although there is a nuance now. When magazines like Playboy or Interviú entered sports sponsorship, they did so for visibility, to be known by a wider audience, now OnlyFans wants content.
The fact that the ATP or other organizations have banned their logo is not as important. The essential thing is that tennis players on the circuit like Martínez or Müller post videos of their daily lives on the platform as they would on Instagram or TikTok. Founded in the UK in 2016, OnlyFans does not want to be just another porn portal but aims to diversify its offerings. "In a short time, they have started working in many sports and with very specific athletes. It is understood that there is a clear plan behind it," Cantó analyzes. And he is not wrong.
Along with the group of tennis players, which also includes the controversial Nick Kyrgios, the platform supports numerous motorcycle racers, like the Spanish Ana Carrasco, automotive teams, or ultra-distance athletes like Sabrina Stanley. In addition, numerous athletes use the platform, such as Ilia Topuria, fencer Yulen Pereira, pole vaulter Alysha Newman, or basketball player Liz Cambage. Cambage, in fact, admitted that her earnings on the social network already exceeded her salary in the WNBA. "It's crazy, but right now I make more money in a month than adding up my entire contract with BNFC," asserted fighter Paige VanZant, formerly in the UFC, now a bare-knuckle star, boxing without gloves. According to their calculations and as also warned by tennis player Alexandre Müller, "many more athletes will join OnlyFans in the coming months." If they are correct, the boundaries of sports like tennis will be tested.