It doesnât matter what sport you follow or which team you support, at the end of the day, whether or not a team gets to keep playing is largely in the hands of its fans. After all, if no oneâs buying tickets to see you play, you wonât be selling any game-day snacks and drinks, not to mention advertising revenue drying up.
Fortunately, itâs very rare for any team to experience this sort of sudden and steep decline. In fact, many teams have only increased in value over the years thanks to their fans â and nowhere is this more true than in the NFL.
From big-name franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots to smaller but much-loved teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL fans generate far more revenue for their favorite franchises today than they did a decade ago.
But just which NFL fans could be considered the most valuable when it comes to revenue per head?
Well, with the off-season in full swing and little action on the field, we decided to sit down and calculate which NFL teams have seen the biggest increase in fan revenue over the last 10 years, and how much of a percentage change in revenue that equals.
Using data provided by Forbes, BetKansas.com took a break from Kansas sports betting updates to calculate which teamâs revenue per fan figure has increased the most over the last 10 years.
With that data in hand, all thatâs left to do now is reveal which teams came out on top, and which wound up landing at the bottom.
The NFLâs Most Valuable Fans
Starting with the franchises that managed to place at the top of our lists, it might come as a surprise not to see some of the NFLâs currently top-ranked teams making it into our top 3. But itâs safe to say that the teams who managed to claim these top spots certainly have a dedicated fan base:
1. Las Vegas Raiders
Coming in swinging for first place we have the Las Vegas Raiders, whose fans now generate a mind-blowing $119 in revenue per fan, which makes supporters of the Raiders the second most-valuable NFL fans in 2023/24 â just behind the Green Bay Packers, whose fans are worth a quite frankly insane $552!
But if Green Bay Packers fans are so valuable, why are they not in first? Well, despite the Packers' high fan revenue, the percentage change for the value of Raiders fans is much, much larger at a whopping 296.7%!
To put that in perspective, back in 2013/14, Raider fans only generated revenue of $30 per head, which means the Las Vegas Raiders are now earning $89 more dollars per fan! Thatâs substantially more than almost all teams in the NFL!
2. Minnesota Vikings
Following closely behind the Raiders we have the Minnesota Vikings, whose fans are currently worth an average of $43 worth of revenue per head in 2023/24 compared to $21 in 2013/14. More than a respectable amount, but certainly lower than the Raiders.
However, just because Vikings fans arenât spending as much on game day compared to to Raiders fans, that doesnât mean their fans arenât the lifeblood of their team â as shown by a healthy revenue change of 104.8%!
It might only be a revenue boost of $22, but weâd argue that supporters of the Vikings are certainly getting their moneyâs worth here, helping their team grow while clearly getting fair prices on games and food over the course of each season.
3. Atlanta Falcons
Lastly, and sitting quite comfortably in third place, we have the Atlanta Falcons, whose fans generated a respectable $29 in revenue per head in 2023/24 compared to only $16 in 2013/14.
Again, much like the Vikings, this doesnât necessarily seem like that big a value until you consider that it equates to a percentage change of 81.3% and puts an additional $13 in the franchiseâs pocket.
Now, we know that $13 is not the massive $89 extra dollars per fan generated by the Raiders, but $13 is still $13. And when you consider how popular the Falcons are, drawing an average of 69,000 spectators per game (which is more than the average of 62,000 for the Raiders), that $13 begins to rack up in value.
The NFLâs Lowest Revenue Fans
As much as we donât want to think about it, if thereâs a team in first place, then there has to be a team that came last. But while the teams who placed bottom of our table donât have the greatest fan revenue, thatâs not to say they donât try to give their all when game day comes around:
1. Washington Commanders
Sitting at the very bottom of our list, we have the Washington Commanders, and while certainly not the most popular team in the NFL, fans of the Commanders still generate a revenue per head of $24 in 2023/24. This is by no means bad for a team with an average attendance of 63,000 per game.
Unfortunately, this revenue per head is actually down from the $37 per head the Commanders used to make per fan back in 2013/14. Thatâs a revenue percentage change of -35.1% and a loss of $13 per fan overall.
Luck definitely hasnât been on their side in recent seasons, but with a planned move to Riverdale Park in Maryland in early 2024, a new base of play may be exactly what they need to turn this revenue drop around.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
Just above the Washington Commanders, though not by much, the Los Angeles Chargers are another franchise who have seen a decline in fan revenue since 2013/14, actually generating less revenue per head at just $20 for each fan â thatâs $17 less than the Commanders for anyone keeping track.
However, when you consider that previous Charger fans were only making a revenue per head of $28 a decade ago, this works out to be a much smaller drop of $8, though itâs doubtful that the Chargers are thrilled to know that theyâre generating -28.6% revenue from their fans as of 2023/24.
Much like the Commanders, there appears to be no single cause for this revenue drop, and it may just be that the Chargers have to hope that a spectacular next season will be enough to turn these losses around.
3. Tennessee Titans
Finally, in the third lowest spot on our list, we have the Tennessee Titans, who step in with a much higher level of fan revenue generation at $59 per game attendee, which is a marked improvement over the Commanders and Chargers.
But sadly, much like the teams below them, the Titans have seen a revenue decline over the course of the last decade, with fan revenue falling from $63 back in 2013/14. That might only be a decrease of -6.3% butâs still a decline, and it will be up to the Titanâs current team and NFL draft selection to make up for that $4 shortfall per fan.
There you have it, now you know which teams in the NFL have the most valuable fans â just in time for drafts to be made.
And speaking of drafts, if you want to see just how these play out, then why not head over to BetKansas.com today where weâll be tracking which star players will be joining which franchises, not to mention following each and every game of the next season. There, you will also find the best Kansas sportsbook promo codes available in the market.
Methodology
To create the ranking, we used âRevenue Per Fanâ data from Forbes during the 13/14 and 23/24 seasons. âRevenue Per Fanâ is calculated by dividing local revenues (local revenue is considered any team income not attributable to national or league-wide revenues, including components like tickets, concessions, advertising, sponsorships, and local media deals) with metro population.
The data from 10 years apart was then compared to see the percentage change in âRevenue Per Fanâ. The higher the percentage increase, the higher the position in the ranking.
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