How to make money filming sports matches

Every weekend you’re out at the field with your camera. You film that home run or that final out, and then the footage just sits on your hard drive. A shame, because the players you filmed would love to see their moment again.

Selling sports videos starts with a simple fact: players want to see themselves. You cut the match into short clips, tag who’s in them and put them online where players can find themselves and pay right away. Here’s what we’ve seen on Siendr so far, with real numbers where we have them.

Who buys?

Mostly the players themselves. They search for their name or shirt number, find their moment and buy it. For Instagram, to send to family, or just to keep.

Sometimes a club pays for a whole match, or just its own team’s clips, so the players can download them for free.

And now and then a sports site, federation or brand wants to use a clip. That’s a licence, not a regular purchase, and you charge more for it.

What do you charge for a clip?

Most clips on Siendr cost between €6.99 and €19.99. You set the price.

Dirt cheap doesn’t help. A clip for a couple of euros feels cheap, and it doesn’t automatically sell better. Charge more and a few fewer people buy, but per hundred visitors you often make more.

Your best moments can cost more. A home run or a game-winning hit in slow motion is worth more than an ordinary pitch.

To give you an idea: a single top-division (Hoofdklasse) baseball game brought in 16 sales on Siendr.

What actually sells

  1. Be quick. A match is worth the most in the days after, while everyone’s still talking about it. Upload the same evening or the next morning.
  2. Tag everyone. If a player isn’t tagged, they won’t find themselves. Tag by name. Don’t know the name? Tag the shirt number. On Siendr you can put names and shirt numbers (like #21) in the file name before you upload.
  3. Get the link into the team chat. This is the big one. On Siendr, matches whose link made it into the team’s group chat brought in dozens of euros. Matches without that message sold nothing, even though the clips were just as good. Not in that chat yourself? Ask a player you tagged to post the link.
  4. Film slow motion too. Upload both versions, let us know, and we’ll link them. Buy one, get the other free. Works for a vertical and a horizontal version too. Buyers get more for their money.

Filming tips

  • Film in at least 1080p. With 4K you can crop, for example to a vertical version for Instagram.
  • Keep it short: 5 to 20 seconds per moment. A player buys their moment, not the whole inning.
  • Stand where you can see the action. In baseball that’s behind home plate or along the first or third base line.
  • Start a few seconds before the action and stop a few seconds after. Then you can cut cleanly.

Are you allowed to film matches and sell the footage?

At amateur level, usually yes. But it depends on the match and on who’s in the shot. Keep these in mind:

  • Only sell footage you filmed yourself.
  • Follow the rules of the club, the venue and the competition. Sometimes filming is restricted, or a broadcaster holds the rights.
  • Players have image rights. As a creator on Siendr you confirm that you have permission from anyone recognisable in the shot.
  • Anyone in a clip can always ask us to take it down. We look at every request.
  • Filming youth sports? Be extra careful about what you upload. A great play is fine. A player lying injured on the ground is not.

This is not legal advice. The creator terms spell out what you confirm as a creator.

Where do you sell your clips?

You can do it yourself. Show clips on Instagram, send a payment request, share files through WeTransfer. For a few sales, that works. But it costs you fifteen minutes of messages per clip, and your footage goes out without a watermark.

There are platforms for sports photos, but they’re made for photos in a gallery, not for video.

Siendr is built just for clips. You upload a match and we turn it into watermarked previews. Players find themselves by name or shirt number and pay with iDEAL or card. We handle VAT and invoices. You set the price, and joining is free.

Questions videographers ask

How much do I keep from a sale?
80% of every sale after VAT. Sell a €9.99 clip and you keep about €6.61.
How do I get paid?
Through Stripe to your bank account, or PayPal if Stripe doesn’t work in your country. Once you have €50, you cash out yourself. A month after your last payout, you can cash out any amount.
Do I need a registered business or a VAT number?
No, not to get started. You declare your own income, just like any freelance work.
I only film now and then. Is that okay?
Yes. No subscription, no minimum. You can upload a single match.
Can I sell photos too?
No, Siendr is for video clips.
Which sports?
Any sport. Right now it’s mostly baseball and softball, but every sport is welcome.

Do you film matches?

Join for free and put your first match online.

Become a creator