Simone Biles had picked up a new “side gig” last year. She’d been a household name among NFL fans ever since she started dating her now husband, Jonathan Owens. But when she was on the sidelines of a Sunday Night Football game with a Sony camera and an NFL media vest in December 2025, that prompted discussion. Now, many Olympians are following her lead, and an officer has revealed why.

After all, it had surprised fans to see the 29-year-old Olympian, camera in hand, taking photos when the Bears faced the 49ers. She did it as part of the NFL Celebrity Photographer Series, and she wasn’t the only one. If anything, Biles was only the latest in a long line of athletes going behind the lens, and Alyssa Romano, CMO at Octagon, had a lot to say about the trend.

“Sometimes [an athlete guest photographer] will be set up for an entire game, sometimes just for a quarter or only for pregame,” Romano told Front Office Sports. “Outside media networks are sometimes involved, and will have access to the pictures they take, too.

“Every team has a department that handles external relationships, and they all work on different timelines.”

That’s because in the age of social media, brands and teams have been looking for new ways to generate content. And arguably one of the best ways has been to use athletes to help their cause.

That’s exactly why the NFL created the special Celebrity Photographer Series, and it has since been well-received. From Suni Lee and Biles to Kevin Durant and several others, the series has become a fan favourite.

Moreover, several other sports have used the concept, including the NBA and even English football teams. It has meant that a catalogue of athletes have gone from simply cheering on the sidelines to showing off their photography skills with a camera. Some even started their own companies, with Jordan Cowan a prime example. 

During the Winter Olympics, the former Team USA figure skater served as the on-ice camera operator. He founded his own cinematography company, On Ice Perspectives, which played a big role in the Milan Games. Meanwhile, Jonas Sandell piloted one of the FPV (first-person-view) drones.

Like Cowan, Sandell is a former Norwegian national team jumper, though for Biles and Shiffrin, this is more of a chance to gain publicity. But it has raised a few concerns among freelance photographers, who worry that this new trend may take their jobs away.

“The athlete-photographer trend can definitely glamorize this job,” Grainey told FOS. “A lot of people don’t know the hours that go into shooting and editing. It’s a lot of time away from family, a lot of missed holidays. Guest spots for athletes can make it look easier than it is.”

She wasn’t the only one who said something similar. The Sports Photo Editor at The Washington Informer, Abdullah Konte, also touched upon the issue.

“It’s a mostly harmless action to provide some fun to social media and PR teams. The only time it becomes an issue is when people are getting pushed off their certain spots or losing credentialed access because they’re making room for someone to come in and shoot for a day.”

However, this trend has been around for quite some time now. Because Simone Biles and Mikaela Shiffrin aren’t the only ones who have shown up with a camera in hand.

Simone Biles, Mikaela Shiffrin, and other stars step behind the camera

Yet when Olympic gold medalists like Biles and Shiffrin do it, it turns the spotlight onto a different matter. That was echoed by Bri Lewerke in December, especially because female sports photographers are dominated by their male counterparts. So much so that fewer than 40% of sports photographers in the US are women. Furthermore, at the Paris 2024 Olympics, that number dropped to 22%.

It’s why Lewerke praised the fact that Suni Lee, another Olympic gold medalist, was also a part of the NFL’s initiative. The American gymnast was captured photographing an NFL game on Christmas 2025. And for Lewerke, the added publicity was only good for the future of her profession.

Lee did it before Biles and Shiffrin, while Kevin Durant joined the NFL Celebrity Photographer Series during the 2016 Super Bowl. Athletes aren’t the only ones to be a part of this, as Method Man was the official NFL photographer in November 2025. Prior to him, Marshawn Lynch and Ken Griffey Jr have both had stints behind the lens, although both retired stars have actually become professional photographers.

The two turned to the hobby after retiring from sports, with Lynch also capturing boxing bouts in 2025. Meanwhile, Griffey Jr. was one of the official photographers for the 2025 Masters and several MLB games. Beyond them, Julio Rodriguez spent time during the 2026 World Baseball Classic with a camcorder in hand.

The baseball star was spotted taking videos and photos during the ‌tournament and even attested to owning several types of camcorders. In the end, what started as a one-off sideline appearance for Simone Biles is part of a much larger shift in how leagues blend star power with content creation.