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.

Of the big four professional sports leagues in North America, the NFL and the NBA have the highest percentage of African American players. In 2024, around 53.5 percent of NFL players were African American, as well as around 36.6 percent of assistant coaches.

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. This survey depicts the level of interest in the NFL in the United States, and it showed that 42 percent of Black respondents were avid fans of the NFL as of April 2023.

Professional sports leagues in North America have traditionally been home to athletes from many backgrounds and ethnicities. In the 2023 season, over 70 percent of the players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) were African American. In comparison, 17.5 percent of NBA athletes were white and 2.2 percent were Hispanic.

The National Basketball Association has one of the highest percentages of African American players from the big four professional sports leagues in North America. In 2023, approximately 70.4 percent of NBA players were African American. Meanwhile, ethnically white players constituted a 17.5 percent share of all NBA players that year. After the WNBA and NBA, the National Football League had the largest share of African Americans in a professional sports league in North America.

How do other roles in the NBA compare?

When it comes to African American representation in the NBA, no other role in the NBA is as well represented by African Americans as players. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the scale, less than five percent of team governors in the NBA were African American in 2023. During the 2022/23 season, the role with the second-highest share of African Americans was head coach, with a share of 50 percent. That season, the number of African American head coaches in the NBA exceeded the number of white head coaches for the first time.

African Americans in the NFL

In 2022, the greatest share of players by ethnicity in the NFL were African American, with more than half of all NFL players falling within this group. The representation of African Americans in American Football extended beyond the playing field, with 36.3 percent of NFL assistant coaches being African American in 2022 as well. However, positions such as vice presidents and head coaches were less representative of the African American population, as less than 10 percent of the individuals fulfilling these roles in 2022 were African American.

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 average length of a player's career in the National Football League (NFL) is relatively short, with the average career lasting around 3.3 years. The league is considered one of the most physically demanding sports leagues in the world, with players regularly exposed to hard hits and collisions. This leads to a high risk of injury, and many players are forced to retire early or miss significant time due to injuries. Additionally, the NFL is highly competitive, with a large pool of talented players who are eager to take the place of those who are injured or no longer able to perform at a high level.

Injuries are all too common in the NFL Injuries are a common and significant concern in the NFL. Due to the physical nature of the sport, players are at risk of a wide range of injuries, including both acute injuries such as broken bones and concussions, as well as chronic injuries such as joint and muscle problems. Concussions and other head injuries are also a major concern in the NFL. Football players are at a higher risk of concussions than athletes in other sports, due to the nature of the game and the fact that players are often hit in the head. Concussions can lead to a variety of long-term health problems, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease of the brain that is linked to repeated head trauma.

Preventative measures The NFL has implemented some measures to try to reduce the number and severity of injuries, such as rule changes to reduce the number of hits to the head, better equipment, and more stringent return-to-play protocols after an injury. The NFL also funds research on injuries and works with medical experts to develop best practices for preventing and treating injuries. However, many fans still believe that more can be done to improve player welfare and prioritize player safety over entertainment and revenues.

Life after football When a player decides to retire, they have several options available to them. Many players transition to a different career, while others may choose to pursue other interests or spend time with their families. Some of the common career paths that retired NFL players pursue include broadcasting, coaching, business, philanthropy, politics, sports management, continuing education, and personal training or fitness coaching.

The NFL also offers several retirement benefits for players, such as pension plan, disability and death benefits, and health insurance for players, and their families. The NFL Players Association also provides assistance and support for players as they transition out of football and into new careers.

According to a January 2023 survey which illustrated public opinion on the most appropriate penalty for National Football League players accused of domestic violence, 45 percent of white respondents from the United States were in favor of a permanent ban from playing in the competition. Meanwhile, 20 percent of African American/Black respondents held the same view.

Of the big four professional sports leagues in North America, the NFL and the NBA have the highest percentage of African American players. In 2023, 70.4 percent of NBA players were African American, as well as half of the head coaches within the league.

As of February 2022, only 4.4 percent of professional football managers in England were Black, as opposed to 43 percent of Premier League players. Less than two percent of executive and ownership roles were held by Black people.

During the 2023/24 season, the Baltimore Ravens had the highest player payroll among the 32 teams competing in the National Football League (NFL). The team had a payroll amounting to approximately 345 million U.S. dollars. By comparison, the two NFL teams with the lowest player payroll during the 2023/24 season were the Los Angeles Rams and the Indianapolis Colts at 239 million U.S. dollars. What is the average ticket price for a Los Angeles Rams game? The average ticket price for a Los Angeles Rams home game was around 103 U.S. dollars in the 2023 season. During that period, the Los Angeles Rams recorded an average home attendance of 73,150 spectators. The Los Angeles Rams average regular season home attendance peaked in 2016 at 83,164. What NFL team has the highest franchise value? Even though the Dallas Cowboys have neither won nor competed in a Super Bowl since 1996, the team is still by far the most valuable franchise in the NFL. In 2024, the Cowboys has a franchise value of 10.1 billion U.S. dollars; this was over two billion U.S. dollars more than its closest rival, the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots had the third-highest franchise value that year at 7.4 billion.

College football takes place in organized leagues between teams of students from different universities in the U.S. and Canada. The leagues are organized by the NCAA, which is the sports association that organizes a wide range of sports for colleges and students. In a survey conducted in April 2023, around 23 percent of Black respondents stated that they were avid fans of college football in the United States.

The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May 2020 caused a wave of public outrage. Following his death, many athletes and NFL players called for an end to police brutality and advocated social change. During a June 2020 survey in the United States, 64 percent of African American respondents said that kneeling during the national anthem was an acceptable form of protest.

The NFL is one of the most widely televised sporting leagues in the world. The average television viewership of a regular season NFL game in 2024 was calculated to be 17.5 million. Attendance In addition to this record-breaking TV viewership, the NFL attracts thousands of fans to the stadiums each week to see their favorite teams in action. The NFL has consistently been the major American sports league with the highest average attendance, with an average of almost 70 thousand people attending each game in the 2023 season. Moreover, during the 2024 regular season, the average total home attendance per team across the entire NFL was calculated to be 588,088. The franchise with the highest total attendance for its eight regular-season home games was the Dallas Cowboys, perhaps in part to their comparatively reasonably priced tickets, costing nearly 117 U.S. dollars on average, just less than the average ticket price across the NFL at 120 U.S. dollars per ticket. Best players Since 1957, the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award has been given to the NFL player considered to have been the most outstanding during the season. Since the award's introduction, Peyton Manning has received the award the greatest number of times during his career, closely followed by Aaron Rodgers, who has received the award on four occasions. One other potential indicator of the success of an NFL player is their annual salary. The highest-paid NFL player in 2024 was Dak Prescott, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, who earned 86.3 million U.S. dollars from salary and bonuses and 14 million U.S. dollars from endorsement deals during the 2024 season.

Despite declining popularity in recent years, football remains the most popular high school sports program for male participants. The games are also regularly well-attended with each school having a following from both within the school and from the local community. During a survey conducted in January 2020, 15 percent of African American respondents were very interested in high school football in the United States.

There are millions of sports fans across the United States, from those religiously following an NFL team to avid tennis fans or those who watch every Formula One Grand Prix. During an April 2023 survey in the United States, 44 percent of male respondents stated that they were avid sports fans. Meanwhile, this figure was just 15 percent among female respondents.

National Football League fans in the U.S.

Football is a widely enjoyed sport in the United States, as is evident from the millions of fans who tune in to watch their favorite teams compete every Monday night. The sport enjoys a diverse viewer demographic, with more than two thirds of white, Hispanic, and Black participants in an online survey identifying as either an avid or casual fan of football in January 2023. The survey also investigated the level of interest in the NFL in the U.S. broken down by gender, with a significantly larger share of men identifying as avid fans of the sport than women.

Women’s professional sports fans in the U.S.

Women’s professional sports viewership in the U.S. has grown significantly in recent years, helped at least partially by tournament victories across a wide range of sporting categories. When asked about the reason behind their interest in women’s sport in the U.S., nearly a third of respondents highlighted international events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup as primary motivators for their interest. Meanwhile, when asked about the role of advertisers in promoting the growth of women’s sport in the U.S., more than half of survey participants believed that media agencies had a responsibility to do so.

Many sports are played in the United States, either as hobbies or professional careers. During a 2019 survey, 38 percent of white respondents stated that their favorite sport was American football, while 23 percent had no favorite sport at all.

College sports are very popular in the United Stated and the championships are organized in divisions around different sports sanctioned mainly by the NCAA, the largest college sports organization. In 2022, an estimated 60.5 percent of male student athletes in United States were white, while 17.9 percent were African American.

During the 2022/23 Premier League football season, Manchester United paid the highest average salary to players throughout the year, at 7.19 million British pounds. The second highest average annual salary in the Premier League for the season was paid by Manchester City, with 6.79 million British pounds on average. Which football league has the highest revenue?   England, with its Premier League, is one of the Big Five, the top tier football leagues of England, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. Out of this group, England has had the highest and fastest growing revenue over the past 20 years, projected to reach 7.1 billion euros in 2023, followed by Spain with 3.7 billion euros.

In 2023, a majority of female football players reported discomfort with their boots, with 82 percent of respondents feeling discomfort that affected their performance. In the Europe-wide survey, 40 percent of players said that the current range of football boots did not offer adequate protection from injury, with Black footballers more likely to be affected by discomfort: 48 percent of Black players said that they felt discomfort in their heel, compared to 34 percent of all players in the survey.