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Andre Drummond
And the No. 1 star is . . . Pistons' center Andre Drummond.
When it comes to social media followers, Drummond outscores local pro athletes with a combined 1.9 million followers on Twitter and Instagram, Bill Shea of Crain's Detroit business reports.
Drummond is followed by Detroit Tigers all-stars Miguel Cabrera (1.8 million total followers) and Justin Verlander (1.7 million). Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate is fourth with nearly 480,000 combined followers.
Shea, framing his list as a "social media power index," writes:
Social media is many things for pro athletes: A series of platforms for personal brand-building, a way to directly reach fans and other celebrities, a method to promote charity work and a tool to endorse products. So the more followers, the more reach, and more reach means more money for the player and potentially more product moved for the brand.
