Waymo is quietly building an athlete-driven marketing engine. Here’s how:

Rather than relying purely on paid media, the autonomous driving technology company has increasingly turned to athletes as embedded distribution partners, using their credibility and audience reach to accelerate brand trust during peak sports moments.

The shift became especially visible around Super Bowl and NBA All-Star Weekend, when Waymo’s athlete collaborations noticeably accelerated across Instagram.

One of the clearest signals came from the recent Waymo x Waymo activation with Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (nicknamed Waymo). The campaign leaned into a native, athlete-led format, allowing Williams’ voice and audience to carry the message inside sports-heavy feeds.

Importantly, this did not start in February.

Waymo has been steadily layering athletes and teams into its marketing mix over time, including collaborations with the Golden State Warriors and Valkyries, Jared McCain, Moses Moody, Tristan Thompson, and more.

The consistency suggests this is less about isolated influencer posts and more about infrastructure building.

Three things stand out from Waymo’s approach:

The company is spreading exposure across the NFL, NBA, WNBA and college athletes (including some of the biggest names such as Juju Watkins and Fernando Mendoza), widening demographic reach rather than concentrating risk in one sport.

Many featured teams and athletes map closely to Waymo’s active markets, particularly in California and Arizona.

The ramp-up around Super Bowl and All-Star Weekend shows an understanding of when athlete content delivers maximum efficiency.

The A&A Take

If the strategy continues, the next phase to monitor is depth.

When brands repeatedly return to athletes for distribution, athletes stop being just marketing spend and start showing up as strategic media assets.

If Waymo stays committed, this campaign can be more than simple awareness during Super Bowl and All-Star Weekend; it can be the early build of a repeatable, athlete-powered growth channel.

Harry Kane adding exposure in the nutrition space through his investment in FoodHealth Co. directly correlates to his public profile built around preparation, longevity, and recovery, as well as his on-field notoriety in clinical and calculated finishing.

Additionally, as a huge name in the European market, his investment in the American “nutrition intelligence” startup also could signal more globalized athlete investing.

As we have preached many times, when the athlete’s performance identity naturally overlaps with the product category, the relationship has a higher probability of extending beyond a short-term campaign and into something with real implications.

Kane has spent years publicly emphasizing nutrition, recovery and physical upkeep as core parts of his routine, which makes this partnership feel less opportunistic and more structural.

We just shipped a business dashboard for professional athletes and their agents. Upcoming meetings (synced to your calendar), inbound messages from brands, client roster, notifications, all in one place.

We know you have a ton on your plate. We’re simplifying it. Take a deep breath… and start earning more off the field than on it.

Happy to give platform demo to interested parties.

Prosperity AI is a financial management platform delivering personalized strategies for athletes and professionals across the NFL, NBA, and Healthcare.

The platform currently has numerous athlete advisors as well as pilots with pro sports players associations.

If you’d like to connect with Mayer, Anusheel, and team, feel free to reach out to us to set up a call!