How do sponsors evaluate the value of social media followers when considering sponsorships?

VP Fuels looks for athletes who can extend their reach beyond the brand's existing following. They mentioned signing contracts with people who have at least 100,000 followers on social, since their own brand has north of 100,000 followers on each channel. They track branded posts and views - in one year tracking 8,400 branded posts with at least 84 million views across 25-30 sponsored partners. They use weighted algorithms where posts entirely about the brand score higher than posts where the brand is just a logo in the background.