Trolling has, unfortunately, become a regular part of sport and media in recent years, with countless so-called supporters now immediately turning to social channels to vent their frustrations and abuse football players, coaches, and team, especially when they let them down across Kansas sports betting!
Long gone are the days of rational thinking and reasonable debate: toxicity is overtaking, and has quickly become the expected norm, with fans often disregarding the impact of the negative messages and comments they aim at their idols!
But which NFL players endured the most online abuse last year? We decided to find out!
And The List Is...
1. Travis Kelce
- 420,600 online troll comments
- 5.5 times the capacity of the Arrowhead Stadium
Kelce is the NFL’s most trolled superstar, with an astonishing 420,600 negative comments aimed his way in 2023, a whopping 5.5 times the capacity of the tight end’s home stadium. However, he suffered the highest rate of trolling just a few months ago, on September 25th, after his romance with Taylor Swift became official. In fact, 53,640 ‘fans’ had something negative to say about the blossoming celebrity relationship.
2. Aaron Rodgers
- 420,400 online troll comments
- 5.1 times the capacity of MetLife Stadium
Ranking second on our list of the most trolled NFL players, with 420,400 negative comments in 2023, we have New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who only recently made the move from the Green Bay Packers. His worst day for troll comments, however, didn’t stem directly from the move. Instead, the 83,320 he received on September 12th likely came from frustrated Jets fans, after the QB suffered a season-ending injury. (Rodgers continued to make news with Pat McAfee of course throughout the season, despite his playing time coming to an end.)
3. Josh Allen
- 391,750 online troll comments
- 5.5 times the capacity of Highmark Stadium
Having endured almost 400,000 troll comments in 2023, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen takes third on our list. Incidentally, his worst day for trolling (48,050) actually coincided with Aaron Rodgers’, with sports fans clearly going through something on September 12th. For Josh Allen, though, the trolling didn’t come as a result of injury, but instead after he put out a poor performance against the Jets.
4. Jalen Hurts
- 379,190 online troll comments
- 5.6 times the capacity of Lincoln Financial Field
Taking fourth on our list, Jalen Hurts was the subject of an astonishing 379,190 hateful, online troll comments in 2023 – 15,280 of which came about on November 27th. This followed a stunning individual performance, in a 37-34 win over the Buffalo Bills – unlike some of our other examples, the trolling came from opposition fans who felt aggrieved by the part he played in their defeat.
5. Patrick Mahomes
- 292,220 online troll comments
- 3.8 times the capacity of Arrowhead Stadium
Placing among the top five most trolled NFL players of 2023, and the second Chiefs star to feature, we have Patrick Mahomes in number five. Mahomes suffered over 290,000 negative comments, including 25,570 troll messages on December 11th. Specifically, his comments following a controversial defeat to the Bills were met with dissatisfaction among the wider football community, with ‘fans’ sharing their disgust over social media.
6. Joe Burrow
- 272,200 online troll comments
- 4.2 times the capacity of Paycor Stadium
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow ranks sixth on our list of the most trolled football stars, with 272,200 negative comments aimed his way in 2023. His worst day of the season, though, came on November 17th, when news broke that he’d suffered a season-ending injury; while you’d perhaps expect fans to rally around the shattered star, he instead received abuse from as many as 28,560 NFL ‘fans’.
7. Lamar Jackson
- 266,920 online troll comments
- 3.8 times the capacity of M&T Bank Stadium
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have enjoyed a strong season, and still have short Super Bowl odds at Kansas betting apps. However, the starting QB hasn’t spent all of 2023 in Ravens’ fans’ good books. In fact, back in March, he was actually given a non-exclusive franchise tag by the Ravens which was met by frustration from fans, who took to social media to send Jackson a combined 21,310 hate comments – in just one day!
8. Justin Fields
- 217,630 online troll comments
- 3.5 times the capacity of Soldier Field
Taking eighth on our list, we have Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, who’s had to endure a torrid 217,630 troll messages in 2023. The most in one day, however, came after a strong on-field performance on October 1st - he had what many are touting to be a ‘career day’, as he ran riot against the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, however, this prompted 7,220 nasty comments from opposition fans.
9. Daniel Jones
- 217,440 online troll comments
- 2.6 times the capacity of MetLife Stadium
In ninth, we have another quarterback, with the New York Giants’ Daniel Jones. No day was worse for Jones than October 3rd, though, which saw 26,400 troll comments come through after he put out a poor performance for the Giants.
10. Dak Prescott
- 168,230 online troll comments
- 2.1 times the capacity of AT&T Stadium
Finally, rounding out our list of the ten most trolled NFL stars, we have Dak Prescott, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, who has recorded more than 168,000 troll comments in 2023. For his worst day, we have to cast all the way back to January, though, when he put out a worse-than-expected performance in his team’s important playoff game. This day alone garnered 15,080 negative messages.
Interestingly, reviewing our list, 9 of the 10 most trolled football players of 2023 play in the quarterback position, highlighting the fact that, while QBs often claim the plaudits, they’re also under the most intense scrutiny. Of course, sport is fairly fickle, and it’ll likely only take a few good showings to get fans back onside!
Methodology
To find out which NFL stars faced the most online trolling during 2023 (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023), the team at BetKansas.com conducted social listening through the platform Brandwatch. The platform highlighted every mention of each NFL star online over the past year and broke down how many of these comments were deemed negative. Those stars receiving more negative comments online ranked higher in the list.
