The NFL is one of the most watched sporting events in the country. It was founded in 1970, and in the 52 years that have followed some amazing statistics have emerged.
Some are financially based, some are based on fans and views, while others are due to the skill of the players.
None of these statistics will change your Odds To Win The Super Bowl, but they may make you sit back and think about the immense culture and history of this sport.
- The Annual Minimum Salary Of A Player is $660,000
The minimum annual salary for a player in the NFL is $660,000. That came into effect in 2021, when the country was going through the COVID Pandemic.
For most people, this was a tough financial year, as work was scarce due to our inability to leave the home. But for the NFL players, it was a great financial year.
In an attempt to keep every player on their roster, the NFL created a blanket salary for all franchises to commit to.
Since 2011, the minimum salary has grown by $300,000, and it looks like this number will continue to skyrocket. By 2030, this number is expected to grow to $1 million.
- The Largest Sponsorship Ever Was Verizon with $300 Million
The reason why players can be given such amazingly high salaries is because of sponsorships. And the biggest sponsorship to reach the NFL was from Verizon – a communications company.
A deal was struck in 2021, for Verizon and NFL to become partners for 5G. They wanted 5G to become the support for all technology and innovation within the sporting league. That partnership will last at least 10 years, as 5G Ultra Wideband services are added to at least 25 NFL stadiums.
This should make it easier for fans to record their experiences, as well as for coaches who need to get the data quickly.
The upgrade should help the NFL transform how they record the sport – creating more angles, better recordings, and smoother AR overlays.
- Since 2008 The NFL Has Had No Less Than 16 Million Viewers Per Season
Let’s turn this statistic into a true numbers game. Not including 2020, the lowest viewing rate for the NFL regular season since 2008 was 16.67 million. That year was 2019.
These numbers record the attendance of a game in person, and not the viewing through streams or replays. This means the numbers would have been much higher than this astonishing number.
Looking at the years individually, you can see a steady viewing audience that likely matches the actual size of the stadiums.
The numbers go as follows:
- 2008 – 17.33 million
- 2009 – 17.15 million
- 2010 – 17.01 million
- 2011 – 17.12 million
- 2012 – 17.18 million
- 2013 – 17.30 million
- 2014 – 17.36 million
- 2015 – 17.26 million
- 2016 – 17.79 million
- 2017 – 17.26 million
- 2018 – 17.10 million
- 2019 – 16.67 million
- 2020 – 2.37 million
- 2021 – 18.29 million
The reason we don’t count 2020 in our total is that most stadiums were closed during this time. It was the COVID Pandemic, and to ensure the spread of the virus was reduced, fans could only watch the game on their televisions or through a streaming service.
- John Ross Is The Fastest Runner In NFL History
Ross shocked the NFL world during the 2017 Scouting Combine. Coming in from the University of Washington, John Ross III ran the 40-yard dash in 4.22 seconds. That was 0.02 seconds faster than Chris Johnson who created the record in 2008.
The record had been sitting there untouched for almost 10 years before Ross dashed right past it.
Since then more runners have tried to take down the record, and the closest we have seen was from Kalon Barnes in 2022. His record was 4.23, just 0.01 seconds away from tying with Ross.
- The Highest Attendance Outside Of The US Was In London 2018
In 2018, the Wembley stadium hosted 3 NFL matches, and every single one of them sold out. The stadium even added extra seating for the occasion, and none of them was left empty.
The highest number was 85,870 and it occurred during the Eagles and Jaguars match.
The number of attendance must have powered the Eagles, as before that match they couldn’t get past the defence of other teams and were constantly scraping for the ball. And yet with London watching them, the Eagles were able to force a turnover with less than 5 minutes on the clock.
Carson Wentz did fumble during the game, but he ended up powering through like the rest of his team, completing 3 touchdowns and 21 passes.
London gave the Eagles the strength they needed to finally grab a win.
The NFL is filled with jaw-dropping statistics, but the most impressive comes down to the viewership and the money. No other sport draws in a crowd like the NFL, and knowing that each player is on a salary we can only dream of is otherworldly.