The Swiss attacker – in everyday life in Juventus – is the world's largest female football influencer with 12 million followers on Tiktok and nearly 17 million followers on Instagram. She has written sponsorship agreements with everything from Italian underwear brands to international soft drink companies and sports brands. She also became the first female athlete to be appointed ambassador for the sports drink Prime (which has previously worked with profiles such as Erling Braut Haaland and Logan Paul).
People always hate that I have makeup when I play, but I do not understand what the problem is, I'm not hurting anyone, said the Swiss national team star in an interview with the Youtube series Small Talk. Sometimes I think it's fun when people get upset. Now it feels like I put on more lipstick when they say they do not like it. It's just my thing and I've always done it.
Women larger than men
In recent years, female athletes in several ways have become more interesting for brands' advertising efforts than their male colleagues. Female sponsorship collaborations have grown 50 percent faster than in the men's major leagues and in a survey, 86 percent of sponsors stated that investments in women's sports met or exceeded expectations, wrote Forbes earlier this year.
It's about going beyond copying what's already been done in men's sports, and instead trying something that actually feels new and fresh – the audience is ready for it, explained Holly Gilbertson, founder of the agency Pacer which focuses on connecting brands with female sports stars, in an interview with Creative Review.
Lehmann's career a coincidence
The 26-year-old – who is still waiting to make her first minutes under this year's European Championship – grew up among horses and dogs in the small village of Tägertschi in the Swiss countryside. She made her senior debut in BSC YB Frauen before being sold to West Ham in 2018 to then move on to Aston Villa. In the interview with Sky Sports, she explains that the attention has come as a surprise.
I obviously have many followers, but it's nothing I've dreamed of. I've just played and shared my life. It just happened to be this way.
Last year's highest-paid female athlete Coco Gauff earned $30.4 million (approximately 288 million kr) of which $21 million (approximately 199 million kr) consisted of brand collaborations with, among others, UPS, Rolex, and L’Oréal. When basketball star A'ja Wilson launched new Nikes shoes in the spring, the New York Times named the commercial film the best of the year, and when rugby player Ilona Maher took Olympic Games bronze in Paris, she soon fronted both an L’Oréal commercial and the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Beast. Beauty. Brains".
