Culture

Mr Beast and the NFL: What is Really Behind the Viral Stunt

September 4, 2025

Did Mr Beast Really Buy the NFL? Here’s the Truth Behind the Viral Clip

Mr Beast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, blew the minds of his fans by releasing a video where he claimed that he had bought the NFL—along with a fake press conference with commissioner Roger Goodell.
In the video upload “I Bought the NFL,” Goodell was seen making a statement, “Today is the first time in history. The NFL is now solely owned by one person—Jimmy Donaldson, Mr Beast.”
However, in spite of the deceptive arrangement, the YouTuber did not achieve the takeover of a major league team. The viral stunt was yet another headline-grabbing spectacle of Mr Beast’s signature over-the-top style.

Mr Beast’s First “Big Change” as NFL “Owner”

At the podium, Mr Beast confirmed the prank with his own words, “That’s right, I own the NFL officially.” After that, he presented his first fake change of regulation: raising the rosters from 53 to 54 players—making the additional space available for another YouTube user.
The creators like Haley Baylee, iShowSpeed, Dude Perfect, and Brooke Monk being “drafted” by NFL teams and going to training camps came next in the video, as a coup to combine the influencer and professional football worlds. It was, however, their usual theatrical interaction with Mr Beast’s style.

The Real Play Behind the Prank

Goodell, at first, went a little mad with it—he even said that MrBeast must have “subscribed” his idea after seeing the YouTubers accepting the challenge, but the response was only a short time away: MrBeast didn’t really buy the NFL.
Actually, the National Football League is owned by over 537,000 shareholders, and each of the 32 teams is run by a principal owner (with the exception of the Green Bay Packers, which are managed by a board of directors).
The clip was just a smart YouTube promo campaign announcing the platform’s exclusive rights to broadcast the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs game on Sept. 5.

From Viral Stunt to Billionaire Status

“For the very first time, Chargers vs. Chiefs will be free on YouTube,” MrBeast informed his fans and suggested that they watch it. “It’s really free—why wouldn’t you?”
Regarding the question if he would be able to buy an NFL team someday, definitely not tomorrow, but he’s still closer to the goal than most people. In fact, the 27-year-old creator, whose main channel has more than 430 million subscribers, announced in February that he had “gone billionaire with paper money” for sure.
However, still with MrBeast’s typical style, the greater part of his riches are not for his own consumption. He, on the contrary, spends his money on extravagant stunts, ambitious giveaways, and viral content which is all designed to keep surpassing his last spectacular event.

Reinvesting for the Next Big Stunt

“In my real bank account, I have less than a million dollars,” he shared on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “I really just like to put it all back.”
He went on to explain, “I have some people working with me and so on, so basically I try to make it so that I give myself the money I spend for my personal use for a month just to be at the same level.” His dedication to reinvestment is what keeps the public delighted with his continuous creative videos and philanthropic activities, as he manages to have a content that is equally impactful as his modest bank balance.

More Celebrities Talk Openly About Their Finances

Lil Tay: Making a Million Dollar Claim Within 3 Hours

Lil Tay that came back to the limelight in 2025, stirred the pond with a daring Instagram assertion: she announced that she made over a million dollars on OnlyFans in just three hours, less than a week after turning 18.
In fact, she put out a screenshot supposedly showing her total earnings of $1,024,298—detailed as $486,558 from messages, $511,003 from subscriptions, and $26,736 in tips.
Her leak immediately triggered widespread discussions about the income potential of digital creators—and the speed at which some people become millionaires by using platforms like OnlyFans.

Miriam Ezagui: Turning Down a $100,000 Offer

In June 2025, influencer Miriam Ezagui made it known that she had a $100,000 offer from a sex toy company that she declined. The campaign that was being proposed comprised of two in-feed Instagram posts, two TikTok videos, two Instagram Stories, and two YouTube integrations.
Ezagui recounted that the offer was very attractive but that it was out of sync with her values and the content she wanted to produce, hence, she was the boss of the money saying, “Not every big paycheck is worth taking.”

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson: A Billionaire on Paper

In February 2025, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson announced that he had surpassed billionaire status officially—on paper at least. His 430 million plus YouTube subscribers count is phenomenal, which means he has a mammoth empire. However, the creator confessed that he doesn’t hoard most of the wealth from his channel.
“In reality, I have less than a million dollars in my bank account,” he mentioned on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “I just like to put it all back.”
Donaldson noted that he doesn’t keep money aside but redeems almost all of his cash through his extravagant jokes, giveaways, and new businesses which, in turn, attract the content that made him rich.

Sophie Rain: $43 Million in One Year

OnlyFans model Sophie Rain amazed her audience when she announced that she had made more than 43 million dollars in only one year on the adult subscription platform.
Along with the announcement, she also presented the money she made from November 2023 to November 2024 with one very surprising detail being pointed out—just one individual account was responsible for $4.7 million of her total income.
As soon as she revealed, it went viral immediately with people discussing the huge money that can be made from subscription-based content and how the creator economies keep changing the definition of “a living”.

JoJo Siwa: $100,000 a Month at 13

JoJo Siwa who is known for her Dance Moms saga, disclosed in the 2024 documentary Child Star that she made “six digits a month, easy” from her YouTube channel at the age of 13.
She is currently 21 years old and still successful as a creator. As part of her continuous career as an influencer, she is extremely active on Snapchat where she is allowed up to 300 posts a day. Siwa’s confession is a signal not only of her long-lasting career in showbiz but also so much as the massive monetization of social media at an early age.

Chris Olsen: From “Annoying” to a Multi-Million Dollar

In July of 2024, Tiktok star Chris Olsen shared that his net worth has gone beyond one million dollars.
“You can keep calling me annoying,” he said jokingly in a video. “I would’ve never guessed that being annoying would make me a millionaire.”
Olsen’s lighthearted confession highlighted how using his distinct character to his advantage has not only converted negative reviews into monetary gain but also into a big one.

Jeffree Star: $50,000 Livestream Mornings

Jeffree Star in 2024, revealed that once a TikTok Live (which is basically a streaming video) is done, he makes about $50,000 through the sales of his cosmetics and the gifts given to him by his fans. As a result, he does four to five streams per week compromising his earnings.
“I’ll fry bacon and end up making $50,000,” he told the Cancelled podcast. “Sometimes I don’t sell at all—I’ll just be in my kitchen in a bathrobe and slippers, chatting, doing a Q&A.”
At other times, he makes money by giving discounts on his makeup line, which keeps going strong. “It’s a small market, but it’s huge,” he added. “We’re the No. 1 or No. 2 beauty store.”

Lily Phillips: Millions From OnlyFans

Lily Phillips, OnlyFans model, went viral in December 2024 with her outrageous stunt of having sex with 101 men in one day and later made a “good amount” of money from the platform when shocked with the question by E! News if she was comfortable sharing her income.
Lilly was directly asked about her income and she immediately answered, “We are talking about millions of dollars”.
By her straightforward statement, she publicly acknowledged the list of artists who are progressively unmasking the extent to which digital paywall services are turning into a cash cow.

The star of viral dance videos Markell Washington opened up to Salary Transparency Street in 2023 that he makes $500,000 to $700,000 of the total annual amount.
Most of his money come from a high-value brand deal and the mid‑roll ad program that Snapchat offers to creators, which is an excellent example of how short‑form content can become your vehicle to both stardom and wealth.

Deepti Vempati & Natalie Lee: From Reality TV to Influencing Riches

Their participation in Netflix’s Love Is Blind (2022) was the beginning of the transformation of Deepti Vempati and Natalie Lee into full Time social media influencers. Their joint appearance on reality TV turned out to be a springboard for managing online careers: after two years, the duo made it public that they made close to half a million dollars each from collaborations with brands and social media activities.

Julia (@itsblitzzz): Passive Income from ASMR

In a disclosure made in January 2024, ASMR content creator Julia, who goes by the YouTube moniker @itsblitzzz, stated that she generates about $56,400 a year from ads on her old videos without any additional content creation.
She has made over $610,000 in ad revenue over 14 years, mostly from less than a million subscribers. Her story is a powerful example of how one can make a lot of money on YouTube from evergreen content in the long run.

King Caitlin ASMR: Earnings Per Month on Different Platforms

King Caitlin ASMR, an ASMR creator, shared a comprehensive view of her monthly earnings revealing her September 2024 income from two major platforms.
She got $3,948.05 from TikTok where she is followed by almost 400,000 people. Her YouTube channel with nearly 27,000 subscribers made $910.95 in the same month. Her breakdown gives us a visual idea of how creators can spread their income over various social media sites.

Makayla Samountry: OnlyFans Earnings Uncovered

Minnesota YouTuber Makayla Samountry disclosed in a Medium article that between January 2020 and December 2022, she had an OnlyFans account where she made a total of over $193,000.
Her revelation was one more statement of the financial situation and the potential that the creators have in the subscription-based platforms trend.

Morgan Presley: $50,000 for a Single Sponsored Video

On The Really Good Podcast in 2023, content creator Morgan Presley disclosed that she had a single sponsored video where she was paid an impressive $50,000.
She tells a great story about career money-making opportunities for influencers via brand partnerships when we hear companies willing to allocate more and more dollars for targeted digital campaigns.

Gigi Robinson: Six Figures With a Small Following

In 2023, Gigi Robinson, an activist and content creator who suffers from chronic illness, shared with Salary Transparency Street that her annual take-home was around $150,000. She made this point that she does not need more than 40k followers on Instagram to be influential.
Her narrative depicts that social leverage is not only a matter of the number of followers but establishing trust, fostering community, and providing value to the appropriate audience.

Ben Brainard: From $5,000 to $10,000 Per Sponsored Video

Comedian Ben Brainard told Salary Transparency Street that the price he sets for a single sponsored video is between $5,000 and $10,000. When comedians leverage their online fan base and engagement to attract sponsorship deals, they are able to achieve such impressive earnings, and Brainard’s frank statement is a perfect example of that trend.

Kamillah Rae, a vigo content creator, confided that she earned $4,746.94 by running ads on YouTube from August 2023 to January 2024. About 923,700 video views were the reason for her total income—although her subscriber count was less than 30,000. She gave a real account of how small-follower YouTube creators can still make a substantial amount of money by revealing the truth.