This infographic examines the decline in NFL attendance despite the rise in the popularity of the football

1. The 26 most-watched sporting events of 2013 were all
NFL games, including 16 in the regular season alone.
INFOGRAPHIC
Football’s Popularity is NOT Declining
BUT FAN ATTENDANCE IS WAY DOWN
Revenue (In Billions)
The league brings in an annual revenue
of $9.5 billion. To put that number into
perspective, Major League Baseball, the
second-highest grossing league in the
USA, had an annual revenue of $7 billion
in 2012 and the NFL more than doubles
the National Basketball Association and
their revenue of “just” $4 billion.
2008
2009
2010
2011
Attendance fell for four straight years
from 2008 through 2011. The league was
forced to adjust its sell-out rules to avoid
having too many blacked-out television
broadcasts. (If a game isn't at least 85%
sold, local stations aren't allowed to
carry it live.)
16.8
Million
17.4
Million
17.3
Million
17.18
Million
(2002) (2007) (2012) (2013)
Attendance by the Numbers
Ticket Prices are Climbing
Cost of Attending
Fans are No Longer Enthusiastic
About Attending Games
The League is Relying More
and More on At-Home Viewers
The League is Still Doing Well Financially
In 2011, the NFL posted the lowest total attendance since the league expanded to 32
teams in 2002 with the addition of the Houston Texans. That year, 16,883,310 paying
customers attended the 256 regular-season games. The number climbed over the next
five years, maxing out at 17,345,205 in 2007. In 2013, 17.3 million fans attended regular
season games, up less than a whole percentage point from 17.18 million in 2012.
$67 $78
$82
2007 2012 2013
The average NFL ticket in 2012 was
$78.38, a 2.5 percent increase from 2011.
Tickets averaged only $67.11 in 2007. In
2013, the average league ticket price
was up to $82.
50%
While ticket prices have climbed more than 50%
over the past decade, parking prices have more than
doubled, according to Team Marketing Report’s
annual “Fan Cost Index”. Beer prices, meanwhile,
have climbed about 35% from 2003's average of $5.21.MORE
In 1998, an ESPN sports poll revealed that 54
percent of fans would rather be at a game than
watch it at home. When that poll was taken
again in 2011, only 29 percent of fans wanted to
be at the game, a precipitous drop.
$5 Bil
NFL
1.5 Bil
MLB
930 Mil
NBA
Yearly Revenue Brought in by TV Contracts
Mandatory
In-Stadium Wifi
Begins in 2014
The NFL has deals with Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN and will make $5 billion annually
from those contracts for the 2014-2022 seasons. That completely dwarfs the
annual TV revenue that the other leagues make. The MLB earns $1.5 billion and
the NBA has revenue of $930 million from television.
54%
What is the League Doing About It?
The league is making steps to improve fan expe-
rience in the stadiums and appeal to a genera-
tion of fans that rely on TV and the internet for
NFL updates: The NFL is requiring all league
stadiums to meet newly crafted minimum Wi-Fi
and cellular standards by the end of the 2014
season, the latest move by America’s top sport to
improve the in-game experience.
Other Potential Solutions:
The NFL wants to transform live games into
multimedia entertainment extravaganzas that
fans watch in two ways at once: on the field and
through their mobile devices. The league is ex-
perimenting with exclusive camera angles,
on-demand video replays, free access to Red-
Zone, and order-from-your-seat snack and beer
service -- all controlled through apps on your
smartphone or tablet.
SOURCES
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2013/12/2013-ratings-wrap-nfl-dominates-list-of-most-watched-sporting-events/
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1707663-nfl-is-the-most-popular-sports-league-in-the-usa-really-too-big-to-fail
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/08/after-peaking-in-2007-nfl-attendance-steadily-has-declined/
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--keeping-fans-in-the-stands-is-getting-harder-to-do-005355696.html
http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/07/pf/football-prices/
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1707663-nfl-is-the-most-popular-sports-league-in-the-usa-really-too-big-to-fail
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/10/21/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NFL-WiFi.aspx
http://www.q1productions.com/sportsfanexperience/
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