Welcome to our new daily series where I put together and share a list of articles I’ve been reading. Providing a filter for you so you can save time and get an overview of what’s happening in the world of ‘digital sport’. Get in touch with me at @danielmclaren if you want to get in touch or see any articles/videos/tweets that catch your eye for me to include in tomorrow’s roundup. 

YouTube star Felipe Neto sponsors Botafogo to make football history (ESPN FC)

This is one that I’d spotted a few days ago to be honest but then reappeared in my timeline today. The news that a YouTube star has come to a sponsorship arrangement with Brazilian team Botafogo. It is just a one-off though, so don’t get too excited about YouTube stars spending millions on shirt deals. Though the club has said it could be extended.

It supports the players new food brand, so is good for his business and great PR for the club. With 7m fans on Twitter alone, the reach he provides is more than they would ever get near on their own. Could it happen over here? Maybe one day, but generally YouTube stars such as Spencer FC have moved onto building their own teams – Hashtag United.

O @BotafogoOficial correu e vc JÁ PODE COMPRAR A CAMISA!!! Sério, tá muito linda!!! Só dá pra comprar pelo link abaixo!

É só escolher QUALQUER CAMISA e colocar no carrinho, na hora de finalizar a compra vai ter o botão “ADICIONAR PERSONALIZAÇÃO NETO’S”https://t.co/bTVyBteawi pic.twitter.com/vvOnOPUS1f

— Felipe Neto (@felipeneto) November 24, 2017

Fan survey shows Bayern Munich brand growing in the U.S. (LA Times)

Bayern have been putting a lot of emphasis on the US market for some time now, and I’ve been following their Content Manager, Scott Sandalow, and Head of Media, Cristian Nyari. Both worth a follow, as well as the US accounts they run for the club. Their work and that of the club on its summer tours has obviously had an impact as this report proves.

A very deep dive into Tom Brady’s very weird social media presence (SB Nation)

If you’re after something a bit left field, this is a fun read as it attempts to unpick the seemingly random cartoon style images that regularly appear on his accounts. And have done for some time now.

#tbtimes

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Nov 26, 2017 at 1:16pm PST

Formula 1 e-sports now more exciting than the real thing—and that’s a problem (arstechnica.com)

This article/blog makes a good point in terms of the race excitement, something that many have said has been lacking in recent years. At a time when F1 fights against the idea that it’s all about the cars (Alonso would back this up) and we see Mercedes dominate most races, with Ferrari not too far behind. Then a big gap to Red Bull. Everyone else is in their own race.

Meanwhile this year’s inaugural F1 esports world championship saw a tight race right up until the end, and it’s certainly all about the drivers. Even though they don’t sit in a car and the graphics can sometimes be a little jerky (they’re pretty much spot on though). The event run with Gfinity is certainly likely to get more of a presence next year. But can the primary F1 races up their game for excitement in 2018?

In case you missed it yesterday, we put together a recap of last week’s #DSLondon event where we talked all things US sport with the NBA, NFL and UFC.  And there was news about Goal.com taking the digital rights this this and next year’s FIFA Club World Cup.

Today I’ll be recording a podcast with Huddersfield Town’s Commercial Director, Sean Jarvis. You can catch this next Thursday (7th) and in the meantime I’ll be running one of my favourite past podcasts again at 12pm today. I hope you enjoy both of them. Subscribe on http://apple.co/2cXrcPH.

See you tomorrow for more interesting pieces I find during my idle time on the internet 🙂