A number of fascinating storylines will play out on February 8 when the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. Sam Darnold continued his career revival this season, leading the Seahawks to the NFC title. The veteran quarterback’s metamorphosis from draft bust to two-time Pro Bowler has been enthralling. And he’ll face his toughest test yet in Super Bowl 60.
On the other side of the field, Mike Vrabel sparked an unprecedented turnaround in his first season at the helm in New England. And Drake Maye’s meteoric rise has the Patriots on the verge of hoisting a NFL-record seventh Lombardi Trophy.
The unlikely matchup between New England and Seattle has captivated football fans. But the NFL isn’t satisfied. The league is intent on appealing to non-football fans as well. To that end, Roger Goodell and company “Officially appointed influential storyteller Dhar Mann as [the NFL’s] first-ever Chief Kindness Officer,” per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NFL unveils karma czar for Super Bowl 60
The NFL’s first karma czar reported for duty on Thursday. Mann dropped an Instagram video that demonstrated exactly what he brings to the sport’s biggest stage. In the short clip, he coaches players on how to speak about their rivals. “‘You’re not the best, but you’ve got a great attitude.’ Do you see how much kinder that sounds?”
The CKO interrupts a boardroom meeting and declares, “Instead of a halftime show, we’re gonna do a hug-time show.” He then suggests to a referee, “How about instead of throwing these flags, we just present them nicely?”
The NFL has empowered Mann to finally knock down the barrier of unkindness that’s prevented the league from reaching its full potential. And it’s banking on his substantial online following, which includes 26.7 million YouTube subscribers. For reference, that dwarfs the NFL’s 15.9 million subscribers on the platform.
In addition to being appointed ambassador of compassion, Mann has also accepted the mantle of “Creator of the Week for Super Bowl LX,” via Schefter.
The league established its Creator of the Week program during the 2023 season with the sole purpose of securing an iron grip on a Gen Z fanbase. And since Goodell and friends felt they weren’t connecting with a younger audience, they enlisted social media influencers to do it for them.
The league believes that “Gen Z audiences” are likely to trust products that content creators recommend. And the NFL is the product they’re pushing.
Mann might be Creator of the Week for the Super Bowl but he’ll have plenty of company. The NFL plans to unleash hundreds of content makers on an unsuspecting public.
“[We’re working] with partners like YouTube and Snapchat to bring over 160 creators to the [Super Bowl],” the NFL’s senior VP of global influencer and content marketing explained, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Empowering them to create and distribute original NFL content to young audiences all over the world,”