Kane Richardson says Alex Carey will promote anything and does not know how to say no. The retired Australian fast bowler made the remark on the Unplayable Podcast, calling his long-time South Australia teammate one of the most commercially active cricketers in the country without most people realising it.
“Alex Carey’s flying under the radar. He will promote anything. I don’t think he knows how to say no to something.”
Kane Richardson, Unplayable Podcast, 2026
Richardson was not being unkind. He was stating what anyone who follows Carey’s social media already knows. The wicketkeeper’s Instagram bio reads like a sponsorship directory. Kookaburra, Toyota Australia, Woolworths, GoodWe, Asics Australia, Discovery Parks, Hahn, Prime Video Sport ANZ, Good Sports, and Oat Milk Goodness all feature among his partnerships.
That is at least ten active brand deals for a player who has never been the face of Australian cricket.
Carey fronted Woolworths’ Summer of Cricket television campaign, produced by M&C Saatchi. He became GoodWe’s brand ambassador for solar energy and installed a full GoodWe solar and battery system at his family home. He promotes a tourism brand, a beer brand, an oat milk brand, and a sports ethics initiative, all simultaneously.
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Every dressing room has one player whose phone never stops buzzing with offers. Teammates notice. They always notice. It becomes banter, a running joke inside the group. Someone walks in wearing a new brand’s training kit and the whole room knows before the player even says anything. Richardson’s comment is the kind of thing that gets said over a coffee at training, not usually on a podcast. The fact that he said it publicly tells you two things: the friendship is strong enough to handle it, and Carey’s endorsement volume is genuinely remarkable even by professional cricketer standards.
Why Brands Pick Alex Carey Over Bigger Names
Alex Carey is not the Australian captain. He is not the highest-paid player. He does not generate headlines for controversy or personality. That is exactly why brands want him.
Carey’s commercial appeal comes from reliability, not fame. He has been part of squads that won the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2023 ICC World Test Championship. He equalled Adam Gilchrist’s record of 10 dismissals in a single Test match. He scored 156 against Sri Lanka in February 2025, the highest score by an Australian wicketkeeper in Asia. His on-field record is beyond question.
But his off-field profile is what makes him valuable to sponsors. No controversies. No public fallouts. No social media drama. A former AFL footballer who switched codes and built a Test career through consistency. Pat Cummins or Steve Smith offer star power, and brands accept the scrutiny that comes with it. Carey offers visibility without risk.
Alex Carey has built one of the largest endorsement portfolios in Australian cricket without being one of its biggest names. That is what Richardson meant by flying under the radar.
W Sports & Media, the talent management agency that represents Carey, lists him as one of their marquee cricket clients. His Instagram following sits above 238,000. For a wicketkeeper who rarely makes back-page news for anything other than keeping and batting, that is a substantial commercial platform.
Richardson and Carey go back further than most people know. They were co-vice-captains of South Australia’s Under 19s team. In what cricket.com.au later called “the bus blunder,” both missed the team bus in a poor display of leadership during that period. That shared history, from junior cricket through the South Australia system and into international careers, is why Richardson can make a comment like this on a public podcast without it sounding like a dig.
Richardson retired from all forms of cricket in January 2026 at the age of 34. He finished as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in BBL history with 142 wickets and was part of Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup winning squad. Since stepping away from playing, he has become a regular voice on the Unplayable Podcast, where the tone between former teammates is looser than it ever was during their playing days. Kane Richardson and Alex Carey have known each other long enough for a comment about endorsements to land as a compliment wrapped in a joke.
Sources:
[Unplayable Podcast, 2026] YouTube
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