Canadian soccer player Alphonso Davies makes the most money with his sponsored Instagram posts than any other Canadian athlete, according to a study conducted by entertainment company PlayOJO Casino. .“It’s fascinating to see which Canadian players and sports have the most influence on social media and who has the opportunity to make significant earnings outside of their sport,” said a PlayOJO Casino spokesperson in a press release. .“Soccer has always been known for its global popularity, but it’s interesting to see the primary sport in the top 10 is basketball, and a range of sports, such as tennis and MMA, also making an appearance.”.PlayOJO said Davies plays soccer for Bayern Munich and the Canadian national team and has the highest Instagram following with more than 5.4 million followers. It added he can earn up to $87,176 per sponsored Instagram post. .The Canadian national team suffered a 1-0 loss to Belgium during its first World Cup appearance in 36 years in November. .READ MORE: Canada suffers heartbreaking loss to Belgium at World Cup.Canada had the chance to score its first ever World Cup goal through a penalty kick ten minutes in, which would have put them in the lead. Davies — coming off of an injury — booted his opportunity into the hands of Belgium goalie Thibaut Courtois..Hammering out a total 14 shots, the Canadians maintained heavy pressure on the Belgians for most of the first half. Nonetheless, Belgium was able to make one of its four shots count minutes before the halftime whistle..PlayOJO went on to say former MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre finished in second place ($70,584 per sponsored Instagram post). It added St-Pierre has the second highest following with more than 4.4 million followers and has more combined than the athletes at the bottom of the list. .Third place went to NBA player Tristan Thompson ($64,736). Thompson gains an average of 170,000 likes per post. .Fourth place went to NBA player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($42,432). Gilgeous-Alexander has the highest engagement rate of the top-ranking athletes at 18.5%. .Canadian tennis player Genie Bouchard ranked in fifth place ($38,352). Bouchard has 2.4 million followers. .Subsequent to Bouchard was NBA player Andrew Wiggins ($35,360). This was followed by WWE fighter Adam Copeland ($33,320), NBA player Jamal Murray ($21,216), and MLB player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($20,400). .“It’s also fascinating to note that the top three in this list are made up of athletes who are around 10 years apart in age, with Davies being 22 years old, Thompson being 32, and St-Pierre being 42 and how they are at such different stages of their careers — the presence they’ve built up through their sport has grown their influence and marketability not just in Canada but on a global stage,” said the spokesperson. .The study examined the social media profiles of the most followed Canadian athletes to establish which are the most influential and how much they can earn per sponsored post.
