9 Professional Athletes with YouTube Channels

Follow Us

While having fame, large sums of money and widespread influence is a mere dream to most, it is reality for most professional athletes. Despite their overwhelming success, their name being known in all corners of the world and an abundance of money to spend, most athletes have started entering a new field of work in recent years. It’s not a switch of careers, but rather, a new hobby, as some professional athletes now run YouTube channels.

Upon hearing about it, you many think, what can an athlete possibly post about, their techniques to help hopeless chums improve their game? Well, not exactly. Many professional athletes are making videos to showcase their passions off the field.

With double the influence, either athletes are trying too hard to be likable or are simply being  overachievers. Whatever it might be, here are some star athletes on YouTube.

1. Juju Smith-Schuster

The now third-year player on the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers has become the unquestioned wide receiver on the team, but he’s also among the professional athletes with YouTube channels. The up-and-coming player has a staggering 750K subscribers and 104 videos.  Athletes remain a mystery in terms of what type of content they would post on a YouTube channel, but Smith-Schuster uses his channel as a platform to depict his regular life off the field.

The channel covers everything from pranks, workouts, getting drafted, family barbecues, Coachella, video games and more. While most media coverage on athletes is restricted to game-related topics, these YouTube videos allow for a closer look at Smith-Schuster’s life beyond football. I think it’s fair to say that fans know what the coveted wide receiver dedicates his time to during the offseason.

2. Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo, the starting shooting guard for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, has used his channel to showcase his incredible talents off the field. As if he’s not successful enough, Oladipo is another professional athlete with a YouTube channel. With his channel, the NBA player has dropped some banger music videos to make his name among the brightest in the music world. And when I say music video, I mean the entire pizazz, with the dual-talented player singing in his videos and acting in them as well.

Upon watching the videos, anybody can see how impressive Oladipo is with some tunes. The shooting guard has collaborated with mainstream artists such as PNB Rock and Eric Bellinger as well. To switch things up a bit, Oladipo recently posted a “day in the life” video, further building on the notion of YouTube providing an outlet of insight for athletes off the field. The channel has 46K subscribers who are always in for a treat, as music is frequently uploaded.

3. Stephen Curry

A three-time NBA champion for the Golden State Warriors and working for another championship in 2019, Stephen Curry has resorted to YouTube to further spread his name and influence. An ultimate warrior he is, and with 617K subscribers, the point guard has his name engrained successfully in yet another field.

Curry’s channel has been around for over five years, but he only recently started re-posting content after a prolonged hiatus. The basketball player has created his own series, called “5 Minutes from Home,” which is unfortunately not about cooking, as he is sometimes referred to as Chef Curry.

Instead, “5 Minutes from Home” involves episodes where Curry brings guests into a vehicle while driving back home from a game, and they simply have conversations. The series now has a good chunk of episodes and features NBA superstar Joel Embiid as a guest star. And if you think one of these two are going to get a ring next year, get yourself a referrer code and take it to the bank with online betting codes (terms and conditions apply, +18, of course).

4. Kevin Durant

A two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP for the Golden State Warriors, Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant is another professional athlete with a YouTube channel. It seems that the entire Golden State Warriors team is composed of well-rounded warriors, with Durant having a large number of subscribers as well, to the tune of 733K.

Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic and generational talents in basketball, KD has also created a channel that encompasses a wide variety of videos about different topics, including his experiences off the field, basketball videos and a few series. One video detailed Durant’s charity foundation in India, which shows the dedication and community outreach some athletes do to give back, and which otherwise would not be covered extensively on ESPN or SportsCenter.

5. Cam Newton

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is notorious for making the dab a pop culture phenomenon, especially during the 2015 NFL season when the Panthers dabbed their way to the Super Bowl while garnering a 15-1 regular season record. Though his channel is very new, having only been created two months ago, the QB has 103K subscribers already.

Before you wonder, his channel is not about dabbing, nor is there a video tutorial on how to dab (unfortunately). Rather, the star’s channel provides a glimpse of his life, plans and workouts during the offseason. One video even features the comedian Hannibal Burress as a guest star to eat tacos.

6. Serge Ibaka

Ibaka, a starter for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, has 98K subscribers to his channel, and has joined the professional-athletes-with-YouTube-channels crew. However, like Stephen Curry, Ibaka is back to making videos after a recent hiatus.

In fact, the subject of his recent videos is food, so I will refer to the NBA player as Chef Ibaka now, as he recently dedicated his channel to a series called “How Hungry Are You?” The series follows Chef Ibaka with his chef hat on as he showcases his passion for culinary artistry with one of his teammates as a guest star in each video.

 7. Jimmy Butler

It has been a turbulent season for Jimmy Buckets, to say the least. Though the new Philadelphia 76ers player is focused on the NBA season and playoffs, it has not stopped him from uploading content to YouTube.

Butler’s channel has 285K subscribers and the NBA all-star has made an impressive YouTube debut as his channel was only opened four months ago, just like Cam Newton’s recent channel debut. Butler’s videos highlight several trips, training and features guest star Kevin Hart (get ready for some laughs).

8. Antonio Brown

Newly acquired Oakland Raider and immensely talented NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has lately made headlines for his tumultuous exit and drama with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As a potential offseason hobby, the gifted wide receiver has started his own YouTube channel, becoming the latest to join the athletes-with-YouTube-channels squad.

Brown started his channel only three weeks ago as he begins his Oakland (and soon Las Vegas) playing days. Brown’s videos detail his transition to the Raiders, highlighting moments like his first encounter with teammate and QB Derek Carr, along with his offseason training regime. Widely known in the NFL world, Brown is still getting started in the YouTube world, with just 23K subscribers so far.

9. Damian Lillard

Lastly, Portland Trail Blazers all-star Damian Lillard is a special talent on the field, and now is out to make his name well-known in the YouTube world. However, Lillard’s videos appear at an infrequent rate, with only one video being posted this year. Despite this, the prolific NBA point guard does have a series on his channel, called “License to Lillard.”

Athletes turning into YouTubers is certainly becoming a trend, as these talented individuals always preach the importance of having an impact both on and off the court. Spreading inspiration via YouTube is a perfect way for these professional athletes to win the game of community impact and make a difference outside of their sport.