Playing one of the world’s top-grossing sports brings millions of fans on social media and in stadiums, watching live games. Before 2022, the total attendance at regular season games of the National Football League was around 16 million. However, that figure jumped over 18 million over the past three years, translating into an average of 69,500 viewers per game. This massive audience has helped American football to see its media rights revenue skyrocket over the years, far outpacing all other major sports.
According to data presented by Betideas.com, American football media revenue is expected to soar by nearly 30% by 2029, growing twice as fast as soccer, nine times faster than basketball, and outpacing the global average by 10%.
Media Revenue to Jump from $17 Billion to Over $22 Billion in Four Years
American football media revenue is skyrocketing thanks to three key reasons. First, streaming giants like Amazon, Netflix, Peacock, and ESPN+ aggressively bid for live NFL games to attract subscribers. The NFL is also expanding internationally, hosting regular-season games in countries abroad, including the UK, Germany, Brazil, and Spain, to tap into new global audiences. Furthermore, major broadcasting networks continue to drive up TV rights values, with deals exceeding $110 billion over 11 years, turning NFL games into premium content.
This perfect storm of events has turned American football into a sport with the fastest-growing media revenues, far outpacing other major sports, including soccer. According to Statista Market Forecast, the global sports industry will generate $78 billion from media rights in 2025, $4 billion more than last year, and 55% of that value will come from soccer. However, despite commanding the largest share and securing massive broadcasting deals, soccer still trails American football when it comes to media revenue growth.
Statista expects soccer media revenues to grow by 13% and hit $49.1 billion by 2029, less than half the growth projected for the American football market. In the same period, American football media is set to grow nearly 30%, rising from $17.6 billion to $22.8 billion. Baseball is the only major sport close to this figure, with a projected 28% growth and $11.2 billion in revenue by 2029. Even the global sports market will grow slower, with media revenues rising just 17% in this period. Far below, cricket and basketball follow, with 8.5% and 3.3% growth rates and $2.1 billion and $7.4 billion in media revenues by 2029, respectively.
American Football Surpasses Soccer in Revenue with Only a Third of Its Global Viewership
The substantial media revenue growth in American football is even more impressive given the significant viewership gap between it and the world’s highest-grossing sport, soccer. In 2025, around 230 million people worldwide will watch American football matches, three times less than those watching soccer games. By 2029, American football viewership is expected to grow by 34 million, reaching 263 million in total, while the number of soccer fans will jump to 736 million.