Art by Sofia Cifuentes
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Sports culture is as embedded within the American DNA as nearly anything could possibly get. Nearly three-quarters of surveyed adults in the United States watch at least one of the premier American pro sports leagues: NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
Reigning as the most popular of all is the NFL. An estimated 43% of Americans watched or planned to watch football in the first quarter of 2025, according to Statista.
The immense popularity of American football is no accident, but rather a result of multiple important factors.
17 Game Structure
An economist may tell you that scarcity creates value, and that same very principle applies to sports. The NFL hosts a scant 17 game regular season, a proportionately low number when you consider the league’s contemporaries. In contrast, the NHL and NBA share a count of 82 games in the regular season, while the MLB boasts a whopping 162 games.
The math works out to approximately five times more NBA/NHL games than NFL games, and 9.5 times more MLB games than NFL games.
So what? Bloated regular seasons just can’t compete with the concision of the NFL. When there are so many games in a season, the individual value of each game can’t help but diminish.
The crushing losses and soaring highs of the season are felt so much more strongly when there’s such a small amount of football to be played. You lose 10 games in the NBA, and you’re still easily one of the best teams in history. If you lose 10 games in the NFL, you aren’t scratching the playoffs.
In the modern attention economy, it’s so much more tempting for a spectator to tune out if each individual game is inconsequential. Having 17 games makes each feel like a true event.
The Fantasy Upside
One of the biggest allures of the football fandom is fantasy. Each year fans gather together with friends and family to draft players onto their imaginary teams in hopes of winning the league and escaping humiliating punishment.
Fantasy football functions as an exercise in NFL knowledge, where participants have to create well-rounded teams on draft day, make informed trades with others and shift their starting rosters around weekly.
For the vast majority of us who don’t achieve our pro dreams, this brings the football closer to us.
A key feature of fantasy is the promotion of varied game watching. In theory, a fantasy football player chooses, in their mind, the best players on the board. These sets of players are often from numerous different teams.
This fact encourages a fan to tune into more games beyond those of their own team. Fantasy football creates interest in teams and games that would otherwise be irrelevant.
As the cherry on top, many leagues have some sort of buy-in, requiring participants to add money to a pot that eventually becomes the spoils of the league winner, according to WeekOneFantasy. Other leagues have grueling punishments for the league loser, disincentivizing participants from giving up.
The Super Bowl & Playoffs
The Super Bowl is often the most watched event in American television, with the last five years of Super Bowls each possessing over 100 million viewers, according to USA Today.
The Super Bowl and the entirety of the NFL playoffs are elevated by their single-elimination nature. Unlike the NBA, NHL or MLB, which have playoffs that operate on a series basis, each NFL playoff game is win-or-go-home.
The athletes are given no reprieve from the ire of the fans in light of defeat. A catastrophic playoff performance is a career-defining disaster rather than a blip in a multi-game series. The pressure on these players’ backs forges both major superstars and meltdowns alike.
The massive stage of the Super Bowl amplifies the aforementioned stakes tenfold. The spectacle is massive, amplified by the halftime show, which will pull even the sportsball-averse into the family room.
As the 2026 NFL season commences, I look forward to a great season ahead full of back-and-forth battles, awe-inspiring comebacks and, God willing, a Bengals Super Bowl. Whatever unfolds in the next 14 weeks, I’m certain myself and football fans alike will be reminded of how special the game truly is.
Put the pieces together, and the NFL’s viewership unipolarity makes a great deal of sense. I’ll continue to watch and love an array of sports, but I can safely say the NFL delivers the best product.
This story was copy edited by Caitlin Murray.
___________________
Follow the Graphic on X: @PeppGraphic
Contact Riley McGeehon via email: riley.mcgeehon@pepperdine.edu