The Relationships among Professional Athletes’Brand Image, Self-Brand Connection, Athlete Trust, and Athlete Loyalty

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among professional athletes’ brand image, self-brand connection, athlete trust, and athlete loyalty. From March 1 to April 30, 2025, a survey was conducted among university students in Gyeonggi Province who follow professional athletes on social media. Using a convenience sampling method, a total of 490 questionnaires were collected, and 466 valid responses were used for the analysis after excluding 24 insincere ones. Frequency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed using SPSS 28.0 and AMOS 28.0. The results revealed that, first, both on-field and off-field brand images of professional athletes had a significant effect on self-brand connection. Second, self-brand connection had a significant effect on athlete trust. Third, self-brand connection also had a significant effect on athlete loyalty. Fourth, athlete trust had a significant effect on athlete loyalty. This study contributes to the literature by empirically identifying the relationships among self-brand connection, athlete trust, and athlete loyalty using a professional athlete brand image scale that has not been previously examined. Furthermore, the findings suggest that professional athletes and their management teams should focus not only on managing on-field performance but also on cultivating off-field brand image to strengthen fan relationships and loyalty.