Juju Smith-Schuster Is In Control
Juju Smith-Schuster is more than an NFL wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On a weekly basis, he visits local hospitals, live-streams himself cooking on Instagram, and makes prank and gaming videos for Juju TV, his own YouTube channel.
Smith-Schuster is in control of promoting his own personal brand. In an interview with ESPN last month, Smith-Schuster said he “takes every appearance he gets,” and “always has a full schedule.”
Since Feb. 5, Smith-Schuster’s most popular content has been his prank videos, receiving over 1.5 million views on YouTube.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ team is full of big personalities, featuring Antonio Brown and Le’veon Bell, who frequently make front-page headlines with Brown’s temper and Bell’s contract issues.
Now, Smith-Schuster is becoming a big personality himself.
Smith-Schuster, who was just 20 years old when he entered the NFL, was not known much outside of the University of Southern California, where he played wide receiver for three years. He was picked in the late second round of the 2017 draft.
Smith-Schuster quickly became a fan favorite after his bike was stolen. He posted videos on Snapchat about how he had to walk to the Steelers’ facilities. He teamed up with Brown to offer Steelers tickets to anyone who found the bike.
Smith Schuster’s high energy and playful personality helped him become known in the league.
Smith-Schuster used social media to control his image after a controversial hit he made during the Steelers’ Week 13 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. During the game, Smith-Schuster knocked out Vontaze Burfict, a cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals. At that point, Smith-Schuster was a relatively unknown rookie with 568 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. Smith-Schuster faced negative attention in Sports Illustrated and SB Nation, two mainstream sports news organizations.
Ray Lewis, a former NFL linebacker, defended the hit on Fox Sports’ “Undisputed”, a weekly American sports talk show. CBS disagreed with Lewis, writing an article about how “everyone is upset about it (Smith-Schuster’s hit).”
Smith-Schuster apologized for the hit after he received a one-game suspension. It didn’t help Smith-Schuster that Brown talked about how Smith-Schuster’s hit was “karma” for Burfict’s reputation as a dirty player.
A week after the hit, Smith-Schuster disguised himself as a news reporter and went on the street to ask people what they thought about his hit, jokingly saying, “I think he’s (Smith-Schuster) dumb for standing over him, he’s young, his fine was crazy.” This video received nearly 700,000 views, 200,000 more views than ESPN’s First Take discussion on the hit. Smith-Schuster used humor through his social media platforms to maintain a positive image.
Smith Schuster is always willing to take risks. On Feb. 15, he came to USC and wore his full uniform in classrooms and around campus. He releases a new video on his YouTube channel weekly, whether it’s “Responding to Haters” or one of his many gaming videos. He does not focus on only posting football-related content on his social platforms.
Smith-Schuster is engaging his fans beyond his in-game experience. Athletes have always been iconic figures in the media, but Smith-Schuster excels in his self-branding. He embraces endorsements and media appearances while still publishing viral content on social platforms.
