Which Auburn athletes have the most social media followers?
Social media is a powerful tool -- especially now for college athletes as a new era has arrived in the college sports landscape. On Thursday, college athletes officially became allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness, as several states saw NIL laws go into effect and the NCAA adopted interim NIL rules changes while it awaits federal legislation. Shortly after midnight, Auburn athletes began to capitalize off the opportunity to earn some money off their NIL, with quarterback Bo Nix announcing a partnership with Milos tea, while several football players have paired with Yoke Gaming to earn money while interacting with fans while playing video games. Gymnast Derrian Gobourne also announced an endorsement deal with Salute Leos, a leotard company. That was just the first wave of NIL deals to come through for Auburn athletes, with more surely on the horizon. What all those partnerships have in common, though, is that all were announced on the athletes social media platforms. Given the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool, that should come as no surprise. It was even specifically addressed when the athletics department launched its SPIRIT initiative, which included educating athletes on social media best practices and brand management, as well as the programs branded accounts across multiple platforms also set to promote athletes personal social media channels. While some Auburn athletes have already announced endorsements and partnerships on their social media platforms, many others have shared messages about their openness to deals with businesses now that they can profit off their NIL. It should come as no surprise that the top name on that list is one who has yet to arrive on campus -- gymnast Sunisa Lee. The incoming freshman has had her name in headlines a lot recently, as she finished second in the all-around at the U.S. Olympic qualifying, behind only all-time great Simone Biles. Lee, who boasts more than 198,000 Instagram followers as of Thursday morning -- as well as nearly 20,000 on Twitter -- will compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer before enrolling in classes and competing for Auburns gymnastics program in the spring. Lee is the only Auburn athlete with more than 100,000 Instagram followers as of Thursday morning. The next-closest is Nix, who has more than 93,800 followers on Instagram to go with nearly 26,000 on Twitter. He is followed by wide receiver Caylin Newton. The former Howard transfer and younger brother of 2010 Heisman-winner, national champion and former NFL MVP Cam Newton touts nearly 67,000 followers on his Instagram account, with another 7,000 on Twitter. Star running back Tank Bigsby, safety Smoke Monday and tight end Tyler Fromm -- the younger brother of former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm -- all have more than 36,000 followers on Instagram. Running back Shaun Shivers, who has partnered with Yoke Gaming and has plans to roll out branded apparel, has north of 30,000 followers on Instagram, while LSU transfer quarterback TJ Finley has more than 25,900 followers on the platform. Rounding out the top-10 for Auburn athletes are freshman quarterback Dematrius Davis, who is closing in on 25,000 followers, and UNC basketball transfer Walker Kessler, who has more than 24,500 Instagram followers. Junior linebacker Owen Pappoe, with more than 23,400 followers, is just outside the top-10. Most Instagram followers among Auburn athletes:  1. Sunisa Lee, gymnast, 198,000. 2. Bo Nix, football quarterback, 93,800. 3. Caylin Newton, football wide receiver, 66,700. 4. Tank Bigsby, football running back, 36,700. 5. Smoke Monday, football safety, 36,400. 6. Tyler Fromm, football tight end, 36,400. 7. Shaun Shivers, football running back, 30,300. 8. TJ Finley, football quarterback, 25,900. 9. Dematrius Davis, football quarterback, 24,600. 10. Walker Kessler, basketball center, 24,500. 11. Owen Pappoe, football linebacker, 23,400. 12. Devan Cambridge, basketball forward, 21,600. 13. Jabari Smith, basketball forward, 16,300. 14. Dylan Cardwell, basketball center, 14,200. 15. Kobe Hudson, football wide receiver, 14,000. 16. Stretch Akingbola, basketball center, 13,600. 17. Zep Jasper, basketball guard, 13,500. 18. Allen Flanigan, basketball guard, 13,400. 19. Zakoby McClain, football linebacker, 13,000. 20. Lee Hunter, football defensive tackle, 12,000. Most Twitter followers among Auburn athletes:  1. QB Bo Nix, football, 28,500. 2. Sunisa Lee, gymnast, 19.500. 3. LB Owen Pappoe, football, 14,700. 4. QB Dematrius Davis, football, 13,600. 5. QB TJ Finley, football, 13,500. 6. RB Shaun Shivers, football, 10,200. 7. TE Tyler Fromm, football, 7,800. 8. LB Zakoby McClain, football, 6,800. 9. OL Keiondre Jones, football, 5,890. 10. LB Chandler Wooten, football, 5,000. 11. DB Malcolm Askew, football, 4,800. 12. PF Jabari Smith, basketball, 4,800. 13. C Walker Kessler, basketball, 4,600. 14. F Chris Moore, basketball, 4,300. 15. CB Jaylin Simpson, football, 4,200. 16. WR Shedrick Jackson, football, 3,850. 17. Edge TD Moultry, football, 3,800. 18. WR ZeVian Capers, football, 3,700. 19. S Ahmari Harvey, football, 3,600. 20. DB Ladarius Tennison, football, 3,460. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.