COMMERCIAL ANALYSIS · JUNE 2026
THE VALUE OF COMMERCIALISING ELITE ENGLISH RUGBY TALENT
A levelUP® commercial assessment for Meg Jones and Fin Smith, quantifying their potential partnership value, and the need to capitalise now.
World Cup Winner 2025
MEG JONES
England Red Roses Captain · Trailfinders Women · Centre · MBE
@THANKSMEG · 58K (INSTAGRAM) / 14K (TIKTOK)
Premiership Champion 2024 & 2026
FIN SMITH
England & British and Irish Lions Fly-Half (#10) · Northampton
@FINSMITHH · 125K (INSTAGRAM)
SECTION 00 — INTRO
THE OPPORTUNITY.
This analysis reveals the commercial value potential of two of England's most marketable rugby stars, Meg Jones and Fin Smith, and the cost of failing to convert that potential into contracted partnership income while their profiles are on an upward trajectory.
Across both athletes an inaction case is stark: a sitting World Cup-winning national captain with zero visible endorsement contracts, and a 23-year-old Lions #10 with a pair of commercial categories filled but with other shelves empty. Their commercial viability has been proven by the market, now the only missing piece is a commercial programme to capitalise on it.
SECTION 01 — POTENTIAL VALUE
VALUE IS INCREMENTAL, TIMING IS CRITICAL.
COMBINED CUMULATIVE VALUE OF POTENTIAL · 2–3 YEAR HORIZON
£500K–£900K+
This is the gap between both athletes' estimated digital sponsorship income and what their reputations, personalities and stardom should be generating if structured and sold as more formalised digital commercial products.
01
THE COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
The assessment frames the value that both athletes could earn by monetising their channels and personalities. We have analysed their current channels, audiences, content and marketing, and will recommend how to optimise all of them for commercial gains.
02
THE TIMING OF ACTIVATION
It also defines that the urgency of activation with 2x major international milestones around the corner. The value of sporting talent is higher on their upwards trajectory, so commercialisation should happen now while both build towards these huge events.
03
REFRAMED PACKAGING
We will offer an evolutionised proposition for brands by offering IP across shorter periods. Packaging them like 'influencers' rather than athletes creates a viable media product rather than a long-term endorsement.
04
BRAND ATTRACTIVENESS
Such a reframing opens up a market of brands looking for short-term association to support campaign delivery. Brands which wouldn't usually be approached by athletes, but have deep pockets.
SECTION 01 — THE PRODUCT
REFRAMED AS A MEDIA PARTNERSHIP PRODUCT.
Our expertise is not selling long-term endorsements, but recognising that athletes have a value in a specific marketplace. The recommendation: to package Meg & Fin like premium creators and offer brands a single campaign unit that brands can buy to support activation of short burst campaigns. Each package would combine talent time and a clear set of deliverables: creation of custom hero content, sponsored posts on the athlete's own channels, and a paid promotion plan. All priced from a benchmark-based rate card calibrated to the follower tier they currently reside in. All packaged to be attractive to the media partnerships which brands buy daily.
01
PLAYER APPEARANCE
1 production day
A dedicated shoot day for brand creative; the foundation every other asset is built from.
02
CUSTOM HERO CONTENT
2 concept-led pieces
Brand-owned hero films / stills shot on the appearance day. The campaign's centrepiece assets.
03
SPONSORED POSTS
3 static · 2 Reels · 4 Story sets
Athlete distributes on their own channels — the trust and reach money can't buy directly.
04
PAID PROMOTION PLAN
Usage rights + whitelisting
Rights to re-use hero content in brand media + paid-social licence to amplify posts through the athlete's handle.
Packaged this way, each athlete becomes a media product brands can buy in short, campaign-shaped bursts, rather than a long-term endorsement which only a handful of categories ever commit to.
SECTION 02 — ATHLETE I
MEG JONES.
THE MARKET KEY
MEG SELLS VALUES, IDENTITY AND STYLE. THE ACCESS POINT TO FASHION, LIFESTYLE, AND LGBTQ+ / WOMEN'S-SPORT-GROWTH STORY.
England Red Roses Captain · Trailfinders Women · Centre · MBE · World Cup Winner 2025
Primary handle: @thanksmeg (Instagram) — 58,000 followers · 716 posts · 1,062 following.
STATUS QUO
Meg's commercial activity is almost entirely self-directed and un-monetised by third parties. Her one clear commercial vehicle happens to be her own brand, Magic Meg, plus a retail collaboration with Style of Our Own is also visible on her channels.
She runs an owned brand (@magicme.g) which means brand mentions on her main feed are largely promoting her own IP, rather than paid third-party partnerships. There is currently no publicly announced third-party brand-ambassador deals (boot, apparel, nutrition, energy, finance, automotive) visible which feels like a missed opportunity.
MEG IS DOING THE HARD PART BY CREATING BRANDED CONTENT & DRIVING PRODUCT SELL-THROUGH, BUT WITHOUT CAPTURING ANY OF THE THIRD-PARTY PREMIUM THAT HER CAPTAINCY & REPUTATION SHOULD NOW DEMAND.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Meg's Instagram following of ~58k significantly understates her commercial value. While modest in size, it's one of the highest-quality audiences in UK women's sport, making her far more attractive to brands than follower count alone would suggest. There are four key reasons why.
Cultural positioning
Visible figure in UK LGBTQ+ sport media, she offers authentic access to a high-value, brand-loyal and chronically under-served consumer segment.
Fashion / streetwear literacy
Her audience follows her partly for style content, not just rugby. This widens her relevance into apparel, footwear, beauty, eyewear and lifestyle which are the categories that actually pay.
The captaincy multiplier
She is the face of the world's #1 team in a sport with explosive UK momentum (75,000+ at the Six Nations opener; ~82,000 at the World Cup final). A deal signed with her now should be priced against a follower base which is likely to grow materially across the length of the contract term.
Authenticity premium
Her openness about her parents + life has built deep trust amongst her followers. And audiences that trust a creator convert far better, which is another meaningful reason to drive association with her.
CUMULATIVE COST OF CONTINUED INACTION · 2–3 YEAR HORIZON
£150K–£300K+
COST OF INACTION.
Currently, we estimate ~£40,000–£60,000 per year in media-style partnership income she is currently leaving on the table given her 'creator' profile and proven content output.
Factoring the captaincy premium and likely audience growth across 2–3 years, the cumulative cost is realistically £150,000–£300,000+ over a typical contract cycle.
This excludes the upside of including brand alignment with her Magic Meg product which forms part of a separate (and larger) IP / equity play.
CAMPAIGN PACKAGE PRICING
We recommend a single integrated campaign package for Meg, featuring talent access, IP rights, content creation, distribution bundled into one repeatable product. The below demonstrates its value when applying the premium, as well as how the value increases with follower growth.
| Component | MARKET | PREMIUM | PREMIUM · 2× FOLLOWERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player appearance (1 day) | £3,500 | £5,000 | £8,500 |
| Custom hero content (×2) | £6,000 | £10,000 | £19,000 |
| Sponsored posts (3 static · 2 Reels · 4 Stories) | £6,850 | £11,200 | £28,200 |
| Usage rights + whitelisting | £6,210 | £10,220 | £23,570 |
| Total package fee · per campaign | £22,560 | £36,420 | £79,270 |
1.5M total campaign reach (organic + paid) per campaign
CAMPAIGNS TO CLOSE THE INACTION GAP
Which equates to the following quantity of campaigns to be sold to reach the inaction cost.
MARKET
Fee per campaign
£22,560
Campaigns required
7–14
to deliver £150K–£300K in talent fees
PREMIUM
Fee per campaign
£36,420
Campaigns required
5–9
to deliver £150K–£300K in talent fees
PREMIUM · 2× FOLLOWERS
Fee per campaign
£79,270
Campaigns required
2–4
to deliver £150K–£300K in talent fees
THE COMPOUNDING VALUE OF ACTION
ACT NOW AND VALUE COMPOUNDS.
INDICATIVE. ACTING NOW COMPOUNDS VALUE IN LINE WITH GROWTH IN EXPOSURE YEAR-ON-YEAR (ESPECIALLY AROUND LIONS & WRWC), WHILE INACTION DRIFTS ALONG A LOW BASELINE.
NOW
ACT 2026
Foundational deals; build narrative.
+1YR
ACT 2027
Women's Lions. Peak exposure window.
+2YR
ACT 2028
Consolidate partnerships; renew at premium.
+3YR
ACT 2029
WRWC window; category expansion.
+4YR
ACT 2030
Legacy phase; long-tail brand equity.
Acting now compounds Meg's commercial value and exposure year-on-year, taking advantage of the England captaincy, Lions Women tour and Women's RWC cycles. Inaction leaves value drifting along a lower baseline, the upside only materialising by putting in place a commercial programme.
EXAMPLE CATEGORIES WHICH COULD SHOW AN INTEREST IN MEG'S MEDIA PRODUCT
The following are example categories & brands which align with ambassadors for short-burst campaign activity leveraging media rather than sponsorship budget pots. And reasons why Meg would be a good fit based on existing content.
01CONTENT TYPE
PERSONALITY-LED "EVENT" CONTENT
Lifestyle, apparel, telco, beer / soft drinks, retail
These brands buy cultural cut-through and shareability; she delivers reach beyond rugby.
02CONTENT TYPE
Fashion / streetwear styling
Apparel & streetwear, footwear / trainers, eyewear, beauty, jewellery / watches
Non-endemic categories that need authentic style credibility which is her scarcest asset. adidas/Nike lifestyle, Dr. Martens, Birkenstock, ASOS-tier fashion, beauty brands.
03CONTENT TYPE
Authentic / vulnerable storytelling
Mental-health & wellbeing, charity / cause, finance-for-good, insurance, LGBTQ+-forward brands
Buying trust and values alignment. Handle selectively as only mission-aligned brands belong here.
04CONTENT TYPE
Owned-product / founder content
Retail platforms, e-comm tools, payment / fintech (Shopify, Klarna), creative collab partners
Brands that want to ride a founder story or co-create product capsules.
05CONTENT TYPE
BTS team / leadership
Endemic rugby (boot, ball, kit), nutrition / hydration, energy, sports tech, banks sponsoring women's sport
Buying her on-pitch authority and the women's-rugby growth wave.
SECTION 03 — ATHLETE II
FIN SMITH.
THE MARKET KEY
FIN SELLS PERFORMANCE, RELATABILITY AND SCALE, THE ACCESS POINT TO NUTRITION, FINTECH, FOOTBALL-CROSSOVER AND MALE-GROOMING CATEGORIES.
England & British and Irish Lions Fly-Half (#10) · Northampton · Premiership Champion 2024 & 2026
Primary handle: @finsmithh (Instagram) — 125,000 followers · 192 posts · 1,647 following.
STATUS QUO
Fin sits at the opposite end of the inaction spectrum from Meg. Two visible third-party brand deals: C4 Energy (ambassador agreement signed March 2026) and AG1 are referenced in his posts, both indicating active contractual obligation.
No other personal endorsement deals (boot / apparel beyond team kit, finance, automotive, watches, grooming, betting-adjacent) are visible. Club / national tags (Saints, England) are contractual / representative, but not driven by personal monetisation.
FIN'S COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IS SWITCHED ON BUT RADICALLY UNDER-EXPLOITED. FOR A 23-YEAR-OLD LIONS #10, ARGUABLY THE MOST MARKETABLE POSITION IN THE MEN'S GAME, HIS CHANNELS REVEAL DRAMATIC UNDER-MONETISATION.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Fin's ~125K is more than double Meg's and carries a different commercial shape.
Scale tier
Fin crosses into the macro-influencer band (100K–1M), where values step up sharply (£1,000–£10,000+ per post) versus the micro band Meg occupies currently. This is the single biggest driver of his higher headline valuation.
The Lions / England #10 premium
Fly-half is the marquee, decision-making position; as a current Lions tourist & England's starting #10 in winning Tests (man-of-the-match vs France, winning Calcutta Cup kick vs Scotland), he has a profile that sport endemic and premium non-endemic brands (watches, finance, automotive, grooming) actively seek.
Demographic value
Male-skewing, sport-engaged, UK-centric audience with strong appeal for nutrition, performance, fintech, automotive and apparel. All high-spend male consumer categories that Fin would be aligned with.
ADJACENT ASSETS
Open Aston Villa fandom and his love of music make Fin credible for football-adjacent, audio/headphone and lifestyle brands. His genuine passion for a club outside rugby also gives him an authenticity that audiences increasingly value, making partnerships feel earned rather than manufactured.
Trajectory
At 23 with a long England / Lions runway, his audience and marketability are on a multi-year upward curve. A deal now is priced against a following likely to grow substantially over a contract term.
Audience growth
Fin has an obvious appeal between Gen Z/A audiences, yet doesn't have a personal TikTok account. Not only would this enhance follower numbers, it will offer potentially different audiences for brands to reach.
CUMULATIVE COST OF CONTINUED INACTION · 2–3 YEAR HORIZON
£350K–£600K+
COST OF INACTION.
Two visible categories (daily wellness, energy drink) are active. If any single deal is worth £40K–£70K/yr, 2-4x unfilled categories represent roughly £100,000–£200,000+ per year in forgone partnership income at today's reach.
Across a 2–3 year horizon, with England / Lions status and a growing audience, the cumulative cost of leaving those categories empty is realistically £350,000–£600,000+.
Although relative to the top of the macro athlete band, a breakout England tournament or Lions series could push his individual asset rates materially higher over the period.
CAMPAIGN PACKAGE PRICING
We recommend a single integrated campaign package for Fin, featuring talent access, IP rights, content creation, distribution bundled into one repeatable product. The below demonstrates its value when applying the premium, as well as how the value increases with follower growth.
| Component | MARKET | PREMIUM | PREMIUM · 2× FOLLOWERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player appearance (1 day) | £6,000 | £9,000 | £15,000 |
| Custom hero content (×2) | £12,000 | £20,000 | £34,000 |
| Sponsored posts (3 static · 2 Reels · 4 Stories) | £17,600 | £30,500 | £53,200 |
| Usage rights + whitelisting | £14,760 | £25,300 | £43,820 |
| Total package fee · per campaign | £50,360 | £84,800 | £146,020 |
3.7M total campaign reach (organic + paid) per campaign
CAMPAIGNS TO CLOSE THE INACTION GAP
Which equates to the following quantity of campaigns to be sold to reach the inaction cost.
MARKET
Fee per campaign
£50,360
Campaigns required
7–12
to deliver £350K–£600K in talent fees
PREMIUM
Fee per campaign
£84,800
Campaigns required
5–8
to deliver £350K–£600K in talent fees
PREMIUM · 2× FOLLOWERS
Fee per campaign
£146,020
Campaigns required
3–5
to deliver £350K–£600K in talent fees
THE COMPOUNDING VALUE OF ACTION
ACT NOW AND VALUE COMPOUNDS.
INDICATIVE. ACTING NOW COMPOUNDS VALUE IN LINE WITH GROWTH IN EXPOSURE YEAR-ON-YEAR (ESPECIALLY AROUND THE MEN'S RWC & LIONS), WHILE INACTION DRIFTS ALONG A LOW BASELINE.
NOW
ACT 2026
Foundational deals; build narrative.
+1YR
ACT 2027
Men's RWC. Peak exposure window.
+2YR
ACT 2028
Consolidate partnerships; renew at premium.
+3YR
ACT 2029
Men's Lions; category expansion.
+4YR
ACT 2030
Legacy phase; long-tail brand equity.
Acting now compounds Fin's commercial value and exposure year-on-year, taking advantage of his England #10 status and the Men's RWC and Lions cycles. Inaction leaves value drifting along a lower baseline, the upside only materialising by growing exposure & social audience to maximise value via a commercial programme.
EXAMPLE CATEGORIES WHICH COULD SHOW AN INTEREST IN FIN'S MEDIA PRODUCT
The following are example categories & brands which align with ambassadors for short-burst campaign activity leveraging media rather than sponsorship budget pots. And reasons why Fin would be a good fit based on existing content.
01CONTENT TYPE
Performance / craft
Energy & nutrition (C4 already), hydration, sports tech / wearables, recovery, apparel
Buying his technical authority as England's #10. C4 is the proof, making other performance deals possible.
02CONTENT TYPE
Relatable everyman humour
Snacks, soft drinks, mobile / telco, gaming, betting-adjacent (with care)
Buying personality and Gen-Z TikTok reach; brands that want likeable, shareable talent.
03CONTENT TYPE
Football-fandom crossover
Football-coded brands, sportswear, betting / fantasy, broadcast / streaming, gaming (EA FC)
The Villa fandom is a bridge to the huge football consumer market, which is usually rare for an elite rugby player.
04CONTENT TYPE
Smart / curious lifestyle
Fintech & banking, trading / investing apps, insurance, tech, education platforms
Buying credibility and a young, aspirational, financially-engaged male audience. His maths / economics background makes this authentic.
05CONTENT TYPE
Young-couple / lifestyle
Men's grooming, fashion, watches, fragrance, travel, automotive
Aspirational & relatable; watch and grooming brands love a marketable young talented athlete with a nice demeanour.
SECTION 04 — GO TO MARKET
TWO ATHLETES, ONE WINDOW.
The commercial case has already been made. Meg is a World Cup-winning captain already producing premium brand content. Fin is the current Lions and England fly-half with established endorsement partnerships. The challenge isn't proving their value, it's building a commercial programme that unlocks their full earning potential as their profiles continue to grow towards their next career milestone.
| Metric | Meg Jones | Fin Smith |
|---|---|---|
| Primary reach (IG) | 58K | 125K |
| Tier | Micro (premium) | Macro |
| Disclosed 3rd-party deals | 0 | 2 (C4 Energy, AG1) |
| Owned brand / IP | Yes (Magic Meg) | No |
| Content engine | Already running (brand-grade) | Barely switched on |
| Core inaction problem | Makes brand content, captures no 3rd-party value | Two categories filled, others empty |
| Forgone income (annual) | ~£40K–£60K | ~£100K–£200K |
| Cumulative cost of inaction (2–3 yrs) | ~£150K–£300K+ | ~£350K–£600K+ |
PITCHING THEM TOGETHER WOULD CREATE MORE VALUE FOR BOTH
Meg and Fin map to two very different brand-buying motivations, which makes them especially powerful as a pair. Meg sells values, identity and style. Fin sells performance, relatability and scale. Together, they cover a much wider commercial spectrum than either could alone: endemic and non-endemic brands, male- and female-skewing audiences, values-led campaigns and performance-led partnerships. That makes the combined proposition stronger, broader and more valuable to take to market for both athletes.
HOWEVER THE REAL RISK IS A MISSED MOMENT
MEG JONES
She is the England captain, a World Cup winner and arguably the face of the Red Roses, operating at a time when women's rugby is growing faster than it ever has before. The strongest argument isn't 'look how much money she could make'. It's 'this is a unique window, and the real risk is missing the chance to maximise the moment.'
FIN SMITH
There aren't many people in world rugby who occupy his position and profile. An England and Lions #10 is a very rare asset, and the commercial opportunity is tied to a very specific period in a career trajectory. That's what brands are more keen to buy; a moment in time rather than follower counts or engagement rates.
A CAVEAT WORTH STATING
More deals does not automatically equal more value. The best athlete brands tend to do the opposite and become more selective over time. The goal isn't maximum revenue, it's maximum value whilst remaining authentic and credible.
SECTION 05 — WHAT COMES NEXT
THIS IS PHASE 1. NOT THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
Commercial opportunity analysis is the entry point. The real value sits in the methodology, the framework and the long-term commercial brand deals built around each athlete.
01
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL ANALYSIS
This document. Quantifying value vs the cost of inaction.
02
Brand Positioning
Defining each athlete's brand, and what they should represent in 3-5 years' time.
03
Category Strategy
Determining which categories strengthen their brands vs which do not.
04
Target Brand Mapping
Translating positioning and category fit into a prioritised target list.
05
Commercial Roadmap
Building deals, content and channels to compound value over the window.
At Phase 5 we are no longer valuing athletes. We are actively building commercial brands which are compelling for 3rd party association.
Next steps
READY TO BUILD THEIR VALUE?
Why not book a follow-up to walk through the findings and agree the next phase? Their commercial growth window is wide open now, but it may not stay open for long.
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