With over eight million fans, the Dallas Cowboys were the most followed National Football League team on Facebook as of November 2024. Second on the list were the New England Patriots, six-time winners of the Super Bowl. NFL on social mediaWhile the Cowboys lead the way on Facebook, the New England Patriots have the largest following on X (Twitter). The New England team had around 4.65 million fans as of November 2024. Meanwhile, the team with the lowest social media following, on Facebook and Twitter, were the Jacksonville Jaguars.The cost of being an NFL fanFollowing your favorite team on social media is one thing, but it does not compare to the atmosphere of being at a live game. However, while football is loved across America, being a fan of the sport does not come cheap. The average cost for a family of four to enjoy a home game in the NFL, including refreshments and merchandise, came to a staggering 631 U.S. dollars in 2023. This marks an increase of nearly 300 U.S. dollars on the figure from 2006.

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional football league in the United States comprising 32 teams spread out over two conferences. As one of the biggest professional sports leagues in the country, it is no surprise that the NFL attracts fans from all walks of life. In a 2020 survey, it was found that 25 percent of Los Angeles fans were Hispanic, while 22 percent were Black.

The Kansas City Chiefs were the most popular NFL franchise in the United States as of the final quarter of 2023. Just under one half of the surveyed respondents in the United States had a positive opinion of the Kansas City team. The Chiefs won three Super Bowl titles in four years in 2020, 2023, and 2024. How many people watch the Super Bowl in the U.S.? The TV viewership of the Super Bowl in the U.S. peaked in 2024 when the Kansas City Chiefs emerged victorious against the San Francisco 49ers. The game was watched by over 123 million people throughout the country. Meanwhile, the second most watched Super Bowl aired the previous year, in 2023, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Which NFL player has won the most MVP awards? Since the trophy was first awarded during the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967, six players have won the MVP award more than once. Tom Brady was the player with the most Super Bowl MVP Awards as of 2024, having won the award a record five times. Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes followed in the ranking with three wins each.

In 2023, the greatest share of players by ethnic group in the National Football League (NFL) were black or African American athletes, constituting just over 53 percent of players within the NFL. Despite the large population of Hispanic or Latino people within the United States, there is a substantial underrepresentation within the NFL, with only 0.5 percent of players identifying as such.

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that was established in 1920 and now consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The league culminates in the Super Bowl, the NFL's annual championship game. As the league’s championship game, the Super Bowl has grown into one of the world's largest single-day sporting events, attracting high television ratings and generating billions of dollars in consumer spending.

NFL revenues The NFL is one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world, generating a staggering 18.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. This total revenue of all 32 NFL teams has constantly increased over the past 15 years and, although this figure dropped significantly in 2020, this was largely as a result of the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) containment measures. This significant drop in revenue demonstrates one of the primary impacts of COVID-19 on professional sports leagues.

NFL franchises As a result of this profitability in non-pandemic times, the franchises of the NFL are attributed extremely high market values. The Dallas Cowboys were by far the most valuable franchise in the NFL, with a market value of nine billion US dollars in 2023. The high value of NFL franchises can be seen clearly when compared to those of the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Franchises within the NFL had an average market value of approximately 5.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

The National Football League comprises 32 teams from across the United States competing in two conferences split roughly by region. The NFL is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the United States, with televised games attracting millions of viewers each week. A January 2025 survey found that 32 percent of Americans aged 34 to 54 considered the NFL to be their top interest.

Total attendance at National Football League (NFL) games reached about 18.63 million fans across the regular season in 2024. This represented a slight decrease over the previous year's figure of approximately 18.9 million spectators. Attendance at NFL games Over the last few years the total attendance at regular season games of the National Football League has consistently been at more than 18 million per season. The NFL is composed of 32 teams and each team plays a minimum of eight home games during the regular season for a total of 256 games per season. The average attendance at National Football League games was at around 69,500 in the 2023 season. Dallas Cowboys drew record crowds In 2023, the Dallas Cowboys drew the most spectators to their home games with a total attendance of more than 748 thousand. The Cowboys also had the highest average attendance that season with around 93,600 people attending each home game. The average price for a ticket to an NFL game was at 120.94 U.S. dollars in 2023. On average, tickets to Las Vegas Raiders games were the most expensive (168.83 U.S. dollars), while tickets for Arizona Cardinals games were the least expensive, with an average price of 98.54 U.S. dollars.

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, regularly attracting more than 70 thousand fans to the live event. The highest attendance figures are often associated with games that feature popular teams, exciting matchups, or other special circumstances such as the large seating capacity of the stadium within which the games are hosted. The 2025 Super Bowl, which was hosted at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, had an attendance of 65,719 fans. This game saw the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs to claim their second Super Bowl title. Overall, the Super Bowl attendance figures demonstrate the popularity and enduring appeal of American football as a major sport and cultural event in the United States. Popularity of the Super Bowl The Super Bowl's popularity is undeniable, with the annual championship game of the National Football League being one of the biggest single-day sports events in the world. Each year, the champions of the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference compete against each other, drawing high television ratings. The 2024 Super Bowl set a record-breaking average TV audience of over 123 million viewers in the United States. Super Bowl spending The Super Bowl generates millions of dollars in advertising revenue for the NFL, with the advertising revenue from the 2024 Super Bowl standing at a record 650 million U.S. dollars. A 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl broadcast cost an average of eight million U.S. dollars in 2024. The big game also leads to significant consumer spending, with Super Bowl-related consumer spending in the U.S. estimated to have stood at about 17.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The average American consumer planned to spend over 86 U.S. dollars on Super Bowl Sunday, with expenditures on food and beverages, televisions, furniture, team apparel and accessories, and decorations.

As one of the world's most beloved sports, it comes as no surprise that major soccer leagues around the world attract spectators in their thousands. The German Bundesliga sat top of the pile in the 2022/23 season, with an average of over nearly 43 thousand fans flocking to the stadiums to watch the live action every weeekend.

Success of the Premier League

The best attended soccer league in the world in 2021/22 was the Premier League. The Premier League has been on top, leading the other major soccer leagues in Europe in terms of revenue and continues to be the financially most successful sports league worldwide, also throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. MLS can't compete with the NFL

The average attendance of the MLS in North America stood at just under 22 thousand in the 2018/19 season. These figures pale in comparison to the popularity of the National Football League - a total of 17.1 million fans watched NFL games live during the 2018 regular season, with the number consistently over 17 million for the last decade. During the 2018 regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had the highest average home attendance in the league, with an average of over 91,000 fans watching each home game. This figure is almost 14,000 more than the average attendance of the New York Giants, which is the second highest in the league. Although the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium has an official capacity of 80,000 for football games, it is expandable to 105,000 with standing room.

NBA lagging behind In contrast to the NFL, the average attendance of NBA games is still relatively low, with an average of 21,930 people watching each game live in the 2018/19 season. These figures can be attributed to the smaller size of basketball arenas, with the largest arena in the NBA, The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, having a capacity of just under 25,000 people. The Philadelphia 76ers were the best supported team throughout the whole of the 2018/19 regular season, as over 838,000 total fans attended their home games.