Sports mascots have become more than game day entertainers. They are now full-time digital personalities with huge online followings. While the average US sports mascot earns around $60,000 a year, that figure doesn’t include potential income from social media, which leaves sports fans wondering how much these mascots could earn online.
Keen to find out which US mascots could be earning the most on Instagram this year, the experts at SeatPick have updated their 2025 research into the biggest names in American sport, including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Using influencer marketing tools, they estimated how much each mascot could earn if they posted once a day for a year, based on their followers, engagement and potential earnings per post, and compared the results with last year.
MORE NEWS: Honeywell is building new $500 million manufacturing facility in Tempe
DEEPER DIVE: 10 Arizona restaurants make Yelp’s Top 100 Mexican food spots
Key findings:
- Blue, the mascot of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, remains the highest-earning mascot on Instagram, with estimated annual earnings of $1,708,565 based on daily posts, up 23.2% on last year.
- Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, is the biggest riser. His followers are up 78.1% to 870,703, taking him from third to second place and within 111,000 followers of Blue.
- Benny the Bull of the Chicago Bulls drops to third. He is the only mascot in the top ten to lose followers (-2.0%), and his estimated earnings ($987,690) now fall just short of $1 million.
- The top ten mascots have a combined 4.14 million Instagram followers, up 25% on last year.
The US sport mascots making the most on Instagram in 2026
| Mascot | Team | Sport | Followers | vs last year | Average likes per post | vs last year | Est. earnings per post | vs last year | Est. annual earnings (One post per day) | |
| 1 | Blue | Indianapolis Colts | NFL | 981,358 | +23.3% | 3,338 | -82.9% | $4,681 | +23.2% | $1,708,565 |
| 2 | Gritty | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 870,703 | +78.1% | 8,324 | -66.4% | $4,153 | +77.2% | $1,515,845 |
| 3 | Benny the Bull | Chicago Bulls | NBA | 567,382 | -2.0% | 8,059 | -2.4% | $2,706 | -2.0% | $987,690 |
| 4 | Rampage | Los Angeles Rams | NFL | 492,171 | +30.7% | 2,934 | +3.6% | $2,347 | +30.8% | $856,655 |
| 5 | Toro | Houston Texans | NFL | 405,280 | +15.5% | 4,507 | -1.4% | $1,933 | +15.5% | $705,545 |
| 6 | Phillie Phanatic | Philadelphia Phillies | MLB | 268,333 | +4.4% | 15,760 | -13.9% | $1,295 | +3.9% | $472,675 |
| 7 | Blitz | Seattle Seahawks | NFL | 191,500 | +53.5% | 2,687 | +164.2% | $913 | +53.4% | $333,245 |
| 8 | Blooper | Atlanta Braves | MLB | 147,870 | +5.1% | 3,105 | +93.3% | $707 | +5.4% | $258,055 |
| 9 | Coyote | San Antonio Spurs | NBA | 128,163 | +14.2% | 15,460 | +625.1% | $649 | +21.1% | $236,885 |
| 10 | Rowdy | Dallas Cowboys | NFL | 90,969 | +9.2% | 1,325 | -5.2% | $578 | +9.1% | $210,970 |
Please find the full data set attached here.
Indianapolis Colts’ mascot Blue is the mascot estimated to make the most on Instagram
SeatPick can reveal that Blue, the mascot of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, has held on to the top spot as the highest-earning mascot in US sport, with estimated annual income of $1,708,565 based on one post per day, more than 28 times the average mascot salary. With 981,358 followers, up from 795,655 last year, Blue’s estimated earnings per post have risen to $4,681. His average likes per post have fallen from 19,561 to 3,338, but his growing audience has pushed up his earning potential.
Gritty storms into second place
In second place is Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot and the biggest riser on the list. Gritty’s followers have climbed 78.1% in a year, from 488,907 to 870,703, lifting his estimated annual earnings to $1,515,84, up 77.2% from 2025 with 855,560 followers. That moves him from third to second, and at the current rate of growth Gritty is a serious contender to challenge Blue for the top spot, with just 110,655 followers between them compared with a gap of more than 300,000 a year ago.
Benny the Bull slips to third
Third is Benny the Bull of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, still the highest-earning mascot in the NBA. With 567,382 followers, down 2.0% on last year, Benny is the only mascot in the top ten to lose followers, and his estimated annual earnings of $987,690 now fall just short of $1 million (down from 1,007,764 in 2025). He still however remains well ahead of the rest of the NBA mascots.
Rampage and Toro round off fourth and fifth
The Los Angeles Rams’ Rampage takes fourth, with estimated annual Instagram earnings of $856,655, up 30.8% from last year. The Houston Texans’ Toro completes the top five with an estimated $705,545 a year, up 15.5%. They are part of an NFL-dominated list, with five of the top ten mascots representing NFL teams. The Philadelphia Phillies’ Phillie Phanatic is the highest-earning MLB mascot in sixth place, with an estimated $472,675 and an average of 15,760 likes per post, one of the highest in the top ten.
Fast risers further down the list
Seattle Seahawks’ Blitz is the biggest mover outside the top five. His followers are up 53.5% to 191,500, taking him from eighth to seventh and past the Atlanta Braves’ Blooper (now eighth, $258,055). The San Antonio Spurs’ Coyote and the Dallas Cowboys’ Rowdy complete the top ten, with Rowdy’s estimated $210,970 a year still comfortably above the average annual salary of many highly skilled US professions, such as a registered nurse earning roughly $82,750 or a software developer in their early career earning $128,350. From viral stunts to fan interactions, mascots show that they are no longer just sideline entertainers. They are becoming major digital personalities capable of generating substantial income both on and off the field.
