New study ranks the NFL best and worst fan bases

As if Patriots fans needed yet another reason to feel good about themselves, a new Emory University study has ranked New England as tops among the NFL’s 32 fan bases. At the opposite end of the spectrum: the Chiefs, Raiders, and Jaguars.

The study, conducted by Dr. Mike Lewis of Emory’s Goizueta School of Business, measures teams’ brand equity—broadly defined, the level of support each team enjoys in the form of dollars spent, miles traveled, and social media assaulted by its fan base. You can dig into the methodology here, but in basic terms, if a team’s fans spend more money than expected on a team, that team ranks ever higher.

Key statistical data that nobody’s going to read: the study controls for both market size and short-term variations in performance. In other words, larger markets don’t get a bump, and neither do teams who do exceptionally well (or poorly) over a brief period of time (i.e., the Chiefs). This is a long-haul award.

The top five teams shouldn’t really come as a surprise: the Patriots in first, followed by the Cowboys, Broncos, 49ers, and Eagles. All enjoy broad, even nationwide fan support, even through some rough patches in recent years (and, in the case of San Francisco, for the foreseeable future). Love ’em or hate ’em, you can’t deny that the fans of these five teams show up in big, loud numbers. The Patriots just edged out the Cowboys, largely because of New England’s larger social media following. So take to Twitter, Cowboys fans, and take back your title there.

At the other end of the spectrum, also unsurprisingly, are the Bills, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders, and Jaguars. It’s worth noting that three of these teams have been living under the implied (and, in one case, realized) threat of moving for most of the past few years, so you can understand why the fan bases there wouldn’t exactly throw down their dollars. The Chiefs have had some recent success that, if it continues, could move them up the rankings. The Jaguars, meanwhile, are the current trendy bandwagon playoff pick, which, if it comes to pass, could both raise the team out of the last-place spot and bring about the apocalypse.

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KontradictioN said:

Best fan base, as far as loyalty goes, would have to be Jets and Eagles fans. Jets especially. Zero Super Bowl appearances since Disco first hit the scene.

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Tunescribe said:

Eagles fans get a pass, their team is old-school NFL and has won three NFL championships. As for Jets fans, don't confuse masochistic codependency with loyalty.

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KontradictioN said:

Best fan base, as far as loyalty goes, would have to be Jets and Eagles fans. Jets especially. Zero Super Bowl appearances since Disco first hit the scene.

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cupofjoe1962 said:

The Patriots just edged out the Cowboys, largely because of New England’s larger social media following. So take to Twitter, Cowboys fans, and take back your title there.

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patfanken said:

I knew we'd be in the top 10, but I have to admit I was a bit surprised to find out we were #1. Good for us.

BTW- I wish someone did a survey on which fan base is the most knowledgeable about their sport. I really believe we'd fare very well in that kind of survey as well. I'm sure we have our share of yahoos who think every ref is against us and every time we fail to make a first down it means someone sucks. But in the big scheme of things, I think we do a lot better than most in supporting our team, while still understanding how the game is played in reality.

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AzPatsFan said:

Disco was a mild glimmer, ten years from happening when the Jets won one year, ' 68 was still Woodstock times.

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AzPatsFan said:

Disco was a mild glimmer, ten years from happening when the Jets won one year, ' 68 was still Woodstock times.

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