Athletes Scoring Bigger Bucks for Appearing in Commercials: XR Report
Payments to sports stars up 106% since 2019 to almost $250 million
If you think you’re seeing more athletes and other celebrities starring in television commercials, you’re right.
And those well-known figures are cashing in, according to a new report from XR, which handles the talent payments for commercial productions.
According to the XR 2025 State of Pay report, the spending on paid guarantees going to athletes, actors, musicians and other personalities for appearing in commercials was more than $1 billion in 2025. That’s up 47% since 2019.
Athletes saw the biggest jump, getting total payments of almost $250 million in 2025, up 106% since 2019.
XR said the increase has been fueled by athletes’ cross-generational appeal and high-profile visibility in American culture, teamed with the expansion of sports coverage across linear and streaming.
Guaranteed payments to NBA players rose 200% and NFL players climbed 145%.
Currently you can see a commercial for Pepsi featuring Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and a spot starring Steph Curry of the NBA Golden State Warriors for the Pixel 10 phone from Google.
Women athletes are also cashing in as well. XR says payments to women’s basketball players grew 176% from 2024 to 2025, and are more than 300 times since 2019.
In one example, Caitlin Clark of the WNBA Indiana Fever appears in spots with Jake from State Farm.
"Advertising is entering a talent-first era," said John Batter, CEO of XR. "Spending on athletes, celebrities and creators isn't just rebounding, it's surpassing all pre-pandemic norms with no signs of slowing. Brands are concentrating budgets around recognizable talent that can break through, and the data shows that strategy is now central to the campaign performance of the world's biggest brands."
Folks who are social media personalities and others who are influential online are also getting bigger payment for being in commercials. Payment guarantees for “content creators” has more than doubled since 2022 to nearly $45 million.
"When social media and lifestyle influencers account for more than half of all creator payment guarantees, it's clear they've become core to commercial talent strategy as well as a key component in cross-media advertising plans," added Graham McKenna, CMO of XR.
According to XR, commercial production hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels but increased in 2025 by 11%. While there are fewer productions, brands are extending the number of days and generating more content per session. Cast sizes are unchanged.
California is still the site for most productions but other markets are growing with Texas, Florida and Virginia increasing their share of production volume by 27%. The growth in those states is driven by incentives, lower costs and a growing number of available crews, XR said.
Data for the report comes from actual contractual and payment activity captured by XR Pay.