Top 10 Sport Mascots on Instagram

December 27, 2024

Top 10 Sport Mascots on Instagram

Benny the Bull is the most popular sports mascot with 513,000 Instagram followers
Coyote is the second NBA player in the top ten, with 117,800 Instagram followers
Many mascots have built a strong online presence, particularly on Instagram, where they share clips of their game-day antics

A new study reveals that Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls’ mascot, holds the title of the most-followed sports mascot in America.

Online gambling experts LSR examined the Instagram follower counts of team mascots across the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL to identify the top contenders. The analysis excluded mascots without official Instagram accounts, resulting in a total of 92 entries from the four major sports leagues.

Benny the Bull was the most followed sports mascot in the study with around 513,000 Instagram followers. He has been the mascot of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls since 1969 and is largely known for his impressive stunts, like dunking tricks and aerobatic flips. His Instagram handle @bennythebull highlights some of his popular gameday appearances.

Blue came second with around 471,000 Instagram followers. Depicted as an anthropomorphic blue horse in a white team jersey, Blue has been the mascot of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts since 2006. His Instagram handle @bluecoltsmascot features him completing challenges, playing pranks, and travelling the world.

Gritty ranked third with around 459,200 Instagram followers. He has been the mascot of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers since 2018 and is depicted as a tall furry orange creature wearing his team’s apparel. His Instagram handle @grittynhl shows him interacting with his team, alongside his gameday appearances.

Toro came fourth with around 257,000 Instagram followers. The anthropomorphic black bull has been the mascot for the NFL’s Houston Texans since 2001. His Instagram handle @texanstoro1 features highlight reels of his stunts, pranks, and interactions with his team.

The Phillie Phanatic ranked fifth with around 211,400 Instagram followers. He has been the mascot of the MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies since 1978 and is depicted as a large, furry, green flightless bird. His Instagram handle @philliephanatic shows his appearances at major games and interacting with his fans.

Other mascots that featured among the top 10 included Rampage (Los Angeles Rams), Blooper (Atlanta Braves), Coyote (San Antonio Spurs), Blitz (Seattle Seahawks), and Rowdy (Dallas Cowboys).

Adam Candee, Managing Editor of LSR, commented on the findings:

“The mascots who represent America’s major sports teams have their own important role as stand-out characters that fans can rally behind to support their team and see in person at their games. It is understandable that many of them would have gained a significant online following, especially on Instagram where they often post clips of their antics during games.

“However, it should be noted that the most successful mascots also use their following to share positive messages and have more personal interactions with the fans, like Benny the Bull promoting literacy to local schools and making public appearances around Chicago. This shows the extent to which sports mascots can impact their local community beyond just hyping up fans during games.”

Top 20 most followed American sports mascots on Instagram

Rank	Mascot name	Team	Sports league	Instagram followers
1.	Benny the Bull	Chicago Bulls	NBA	513,000
2.	Blue	Indianapolis Colts	NFL	471,000
3.	Gritty	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL	459,200
4.	Toro	Houston Texans	NFL	256,000
5.	Phillie Phanatic	Philadelphia Phillies	MLB	211,400
6.	Rampage	Los Angeles Rams	NFL	209,300
7.	Blooper	Atlanta Braves	MLB	134,900
8.	Coyote	San Antonio Spurs	NBA	117,800
9.	Blitz	Seattle Seahawks	NFL	110,800
10.	Rowdy	Dallas Cowboys	NFL	78,000
11.	Mr. Met and Mrs. Met	New York Mets	MLB	69,200
12.	Franklin	Philadelphia 76ers	NBA	68,000
13.	Orbit	Houston Astros	MLB	65,100
14.	N.J. Devil	New Jersey Devils	NHL	58,800
15.	Sluggerr	Kansas City Royals	MLB	56,600
16.	Viktor	Minnesota Vikings	NFL	54,800
17.	Sir Purr	Carolina Panthers	NFL	53,000
18.	Stuff the Magic Dragon	Orlando Magic	NBA	52,100
19.	Clark	Chicago Cubs	MLB	51,600
20.	S.J. Sharkie	San Jose Sharks	NHL	50,600

Top 10 most followed MLB sports mascots on Instagram

Rank	Mascot name	Team	Instagram followers
1.	Phillie Phanatic	Philadelphia Phillies	211,400
2.	Blooper	Atlanta Braves	134,900
3.	Mr. Met and Mrs. Met	New York Mets	69,200
4.	Orbit	Houston Astros	65,100
5.	Sluggerr	Kansas City Royals	56,600
6.	Clark	Chicago Cubs	51,600
7.	Fredbird	St. Louis Cardinals	32,800
8.	Mariner Moose	Seattle Mariners	30,000
9.	Wally the Green Monster and Tessie	Boston Red Sox	29,800
10.	Rangers Captain	Texas Rangers	24,700

Top 10 most followed NBA sports mascots on Instagram

Rank	Mascot name	Team	Instagram followers
1.	Benny the Bull	Chicago Bulls	513,000
2.	Coyote	San Antonio Spurs	117,800
3.	Franklin	Philadelphia 76ers	68,000
4.	Stuff the Magic Dragon	Orlando Magic	52,100
5.	Bango (the Buck)	Milwaukee Bucks	45,500
6.	Jazz Bear	Utah Jazz	43,400
7.	Moondog	Cleveland Cavaliers	38,500
8.	Clutch the Bear	Houston Rockets	36,000
9.	Lucky the Leprechaun	Boston Celtics	34,400
10.	Burnie	Miami Heat	27,000

Top 10 most followed NFL sports mascots on Instagram

Rank	Mascot name	Team	Instagram followers
1.	Blue	Indianapolis Colts	471,000
2.	Toro	Houston Texans	256,000
3.	Rampage	Los Angeles Rams	209,300
4.	Blitz	Seattle Seahawks	110,800
5.	Rowdy	Dallas Cowboys	78,000
6.	Viktor	Minnesota Vikings	54,800
7.	Sir Purr	Carolina Panthers	53,000
8.	Freddie Falcon	Atlanta Falcons	38,000
9.	Sourdough Sam	San Francisco 49ers	29,200
10.	Brownie the Elf	Cleveland Browns	29,000

Top 10 most followed NHL sports mascots on Instagram

Rank	Mascot name	Team	Instagram followers
1.	Gritty	Philadelphia Flyers	459,200
2.	N.J. Devil	New Jersey Devils	58,800
3.	S.J. Sharkie	San Jose Sharks	50,600
4.	Jazz Bear	Utah Hockey Club	43,400
5.	Tommy Hawk	Chicago Blackhawks	42,500
6.	Louie	St. Louis Blues	38,200
7.	Hunter	Edmonton Oilers	37,600
8.	Fin	Vancouver Canucks	33,200
9.	Buoy	Seattle Kraken	31,900
10.	Gnash	Nashville Predators	30,600

ENDS

Story credit: https://legalsportsreport.com

Sources:

Instagram, NFL mascot list, NBA mascot list, MLB mascot list, NHL mascot list

Methodology:

This analysis looked at the Instagram follower counts for every mascot representing teams in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL to determine which mascots had the biggest following on the platform. These results were then ranked from highest to lowest.

Any mascots without official Instagram accounts were excluded from the findings, resulting in a total of 92 entries across the four sporting leagues.

Instagram data was collected on 21st October 2024.

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