Cardale Jones Sees the Game From Every Angle Today

The Ohio State national champion swapped the gridiron for the pitch and the press box as the Columbus Crew hosted Inter Miami.

Cardale Jones knows what a big night in Columbus feels like. In January 2015, he led Ohio State to the first College Football Playoff national championship. More than a decade later, he went back to a packed Columbus crowd and saw the action from a very different angle.

On 27 September 2026, Jones joined ScottsMiracle-Gro at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field as the Columbus Crew hosted Inter Miami. MN2S secured Jones for the matchday campaign, which gave him pitch-side and press-box access for one of the biggest fixtures on the Crew’s calendar. The Cardale Jones ScottsMiracle-Gro partnership produced a run of creator-led Instagram content built on one simple idea: the game from every angle.

A Columbus Crew Matchday Built for Storytelling

The fixture gave him plenty to talk about. Josef Martínez put the Crew ahead from the penalty spot before Lionel Messi equalised for the visitors. Then, deep into stoppage time, Jamal Thiaré struck a 98th-minute winner to seal a 2-1 victory for the home side.

Jones started the night at pitch level. From there, he moved up to the press box, where shape, space and movement look completely different. That journey became the backbone of the campaign. Along the way, Jones compared the field, the sightlines and the flow of play with what he knows from football. He also drew on his broadcasting work to read the game the way an analyst would.

A videographer captured the evening, and the brand reviewed the content before it went live. The deliverables included a recap reel, a photo carousel and three Instagram stories. Each one leaned on Jones’s personal view of the night rather than a scripted endorsement.

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Why Cardale Jones Is the Right Fit for Columbus

Few athletes carry as much goodwill in Ohio as Jones. His rise during the 2014 season is still one of college football’s great stories. As Ohio State’s third-string quarterback, he stepped in after injuries to Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. He then won the Big Ten Championship, the Sugar Bowl against Alabama and the national title against Oregon in his first three college starts.

The Buffalo Bills drafted him in the fourth round in 2016, and he later spent time with the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, his analyst work with CBS Sports has given him a second identity as a voice of the game.

That mix matters. Jones speaks to Ohio sports fans as one of their own. At the same time, his player-to-broadcaster background gives him credibility when he breaks a game down. He isn’t just a famous face in a suite. Instead, he brings a real point of view to a sport that many football fans are still getting to know.

The Strategy Behind a Stadium Naming Rights Activation

ScottsMiracle-Gro has deep roots in central Ohio. The company traces its history back to 1868 and is based in Marysville, just north-west of Columbus. In November 2025, the Crew and ScottsMiracle-Gro announced that the club’s downtown stadium, formerly Lower.com Field, would become ScottsMiracle-Gro Field from the 2026 season. The deal extended a partnership of more than 15 years, which already included supplying the Crew’s natural grass playing surface.

A name on a stadium builds recognition. However, it doesn’t build connection on its own. In the first season of any naming rights deal, the real challenge is giving fans a reason to care about the name. That’s where talent marketing earns its place.

Putting a local sporting hero inside the venue let the brand reach fans who might not follow soccer closely. Ohio’s football audience already trusts Jones’s voice. Through his eyes, ScottsMiracle-Gro Field becomes a place worth visiting, not just a name on a ticket.

Crossover Audiences and Creator-Led Sports Content

The campaign also reflects a wider shift in sports marketing. More and more, brands treat athletes as creators rather than just ambassadors. Fans get a personal story with a clear point of view instead of a static endorsement. As a result, the content feels closer to what audiences already choose to watch on their feeds.

Crossover appeal is another growing theme in celebrity partnerships. Football and soccer audiences in the US overlap more than ever, especially as Major League Soccer raises its profile. Inter Miami’s star power also draws fresh eyes to every away fixture. Pairing that moment with a trusted football voice let ScottsMiracle-Gro speak to both groups at once.

For influencer marketing in sport, this is the sweet spot. A well-chosen athlete brand partnership doesn’t ask the talent to pretend. Rather, it puts them somewhere new and lets their curiosity do the work.

Putting the Right Talent in Front of the Right Brand

MN2S saw the fit and made it happen. On one side was a brand in its first season as a stadium naming partner, looking to strengthen its Columbus connection. On the other was an Ohio sports icon with a broadcaster’s eye for detail. The work lay in shaping a matchday that served both: real access, a clear creative hook and content that felt true to Jones.

For brands, the lesson is simple. Local relevance often beats generic star power. The right athlete can turn a venue, a product or a partnership into a story fans actually want to follow.

If your brand wants to build a campaign around sporting talent, get in touch with our team to start the conversation.