Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are among the top five favorite active male athletes with U.S. adults, according to survey data.
Data intelligence platform Morning Consult publicly shared survey results, which I viewed, from the company’s downloadable January 2025 sports marketing report. Morning Consult asked 2,202 U.S. adults to provide their favorite male and female athletes as part of open-ended written responses.
Kelce, who has seen his stardom rise even further for his relationship with world pop sensation Taylor Swift, and Mahomes occupy the spotlight Sunday, when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
“Kelce is the perfect example of, ‘If you build it and suddenly you break through, look at what happens with preparation and foresight,’ ” said Joe Favorito, a veteran sports marketing and communications consultant. “This didn’t happen in a vacuum just because Taylor Swift showed up. This was a conscious effort at least seven, eight years ago.”
Favorito recalled the 35-year-old first starring in an E! reality dating show called “Catching Kelce” where he tried to find love through dating 50 eligible women in 2016.
He also noted Kelce’s commitment to building his off-the-field personal brand, which has included hosting “Saturday Night Live,” building a multi-million marketing portfolio with corporations like State Farm, Bud Light, Subway and Pepsi, among others, and co-hosting a top comedy and pop culture podcast called “New Heights” with his brother and ESPN football analyst Jason Kelce.
Besides Travis Kelce and Mahomes — who Forbes estimated earned $25 million in off-the-field earnings in 2024 — the other top active male athletes among Americans are Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen.
Meanwhile, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark received the most mentions of any active athlete, male or female, in the survey. In other words, Clark — who had her No. 22 jersey retired by Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday — is America’s most popular active athlete. The 23-year-old Clark earned an estimated $8.1 million in total earnings last year, per Forbes.
Other top-mentioned active female athletes, the data found, include seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese. Forbes has previously featured all three female athletes on its annual ‘30 Under 30’ list.
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