Akademiks argues that DDG is “clickbaiting” with his recent claim that streamers “make more money” than most NFL athletes.
As you may have seen on X in recent days, DDG, a streamer and rapper, claimed that streamers “make more money than 95 percent of the NFL.” He also recently argued that streamers are “richer and more influential” than traditional celebrity figures.
However, Akademiks sees things a bit differently.
“DDG clickbaiting and that’s my n***a let me fix it,” Akademiks said in an X post shared Wednesday (Feb. 4). “1 percent of streamers make more than 99 percent of NFL players. 99 percent of NFL players make more than 90 percent of streamers.”
Continuing his opposing argument, Ak said that the assumption that streamers are besting “everyone” financially is “severely skewed.” As he explained, only the top stars in the space are making substantial money.
“The average streamer makes less than a part-time DoorDash driver,” he said in a follow-up post, later adding that “the average streamer” has a salary on par with minimum wage.
Also brought into the argument was OnlyFans, with Ak arguing that Sophie Rain and other alleged top earners on the platform are making false equivalencies.
“Let’s not confuse the audience,” he added.
To be clear, any assertion that someone in the streaming space at large is besting those in the NFL or beyond, be it through OnlyFans or elsewhere, marks an oversimplification of the numbers. Of course, the top performers in these spaces can lay claim to a unique level of success, but this can’t necessarily be extrapolated out as a signifier of a larger trend.
As for the NFL, specifically, Sports Illustrated estimates an average player salary of just over $5 million for 2025, though its reporting makes clear that this number is rife with potential inaccuracies due to a number of factors.