This year, the National Football League is reintroducing its annual NFL Top 100 list as an original program on X, the social platform owned by Elon Musk. Previously, the show (where current NFL players vote for their top peers) used to air as a TV special on NFL Network.
Starting from June 30th until August 29th, the NFL will release two brief episodes daily on NFL Network. These episodes will feature two players from the top 10 list each day, with this special preview running throughout the summer. On Monday morning, the first player to be revealed was Ladd McConkey, a wide receiver for the Chargers who ranks at #100 in the list.
According to Ross Ketover, who holds a senior position at NFL Films, an essential aspect of the series’ success is its collaborative relationship and interaction with the players.
Additionally, numerous athletes are quite active on X and other social media outlets. Therefore, the league aimed to discover an appropriate platform and innovative format for the series that encourages increased sharing, interaction, and, indeed, discussions.
Mitchell Smith, head of original content at X, shares that a key part of our initial plan involves developing a new section focusing on entertainment and creator economy. Ideally, we aim to excel in the most profitable content genres on the platform. Speaking about the launch of this vertical, he expressed his eagerness to collaborate with NFL Films and explore ways to expand and enhance our partnership through original programming.
Smith pointed out that a substantial portion of discussions and debates regarding the top athletes ever (GOATs) transpired on their platform, influencing the agreement’s terms, based on a study conducted by X.
He comments, “Starting debates about who is the greatest in such a format, with an IP like this, feels very natural. We consider timing and how it aligns with our platform’s strengths to drive not only viewership but also interaction and engagement since we are essentially a social platform.
Over time, we’ve created plenty of content across various platforms, including long-form storytelling. However, as Mitch pointed out, this particular project is more about the present moment. Given that our show is closely tied to the ongoing debate, it seems fitting to use a platform that encourages similar discussions,” Ketover explains.
Smith positions the latest iteration of NFL Top 100 as an integral aspect of the platform’s expanding focus on content created by individuals. This expansion additionally encompasses original video podcasts, with Khloe Kardashian and Venus and Serena Williams hosting some of these shows.
In simpler terms, Smith emphasizes that everyone within this community plays a creative role, be it the NFL, the Williams sisters, or Khloe Kardashian. We’re particularly interested in individuals who are power users of our platform, excel at both sharing excellent content and igniting discussions, and naturally enjoy socializing. Interestingly, the NFL is one of our most dedicated power users. Through our partnership, we’ve built a strong bond that allows us to share real-time highlights, clips, and NFL Films, which adds a sophisticated touch to storytelling on our platform.
In this instance, the agreement between the NFL and NFL Films for the NFL Top 100 series serves as another case of delivering their content on the platforms that the league and its internal production team believe will resonate best with fans.
NFL Films, now a prominent standalone studio, creates shows such as “Hard Knocks” for HBO, “Quarterback” for Netflix, while also producing content for NFL Network, ESPN, and Roku Channel. The secret lies in matching appropriate programming with suitable platforms.
Originally, there was an idea that ‘shows attract viewers to platforms.’ However, we’ve noticed it’s quite the opposite. Instead, let’s focus on providing what people want on the platforms they already use. This type of content seems ideal for X, and we believe this will be a first for us. We have several projects in collaboration with Mitch that will cater more towards immediate access-driven current player content on this platform.
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2025-06-30 17:54