America’s Most Popular Sport: A Data Deep Dive

March 28, 2023
SponsorPulse Staff

In a country dominated by pure passion for professional sports, the question is only natural: which one reigns supreme? In this article, we leverage select SponsorPulse data to find out.

But before we dive in, here’s a quick primer on what our key metrics denote:

Engagement: % of people who have engaged with the property over the past 12 months

Intensity: % of people who engage with the property on a weekly basis, among engaged

Momentum: % of people who expect their interest in the property to grow over the next 12 months, among engaged

Excitement: % of people who are excited, among engaged

Passion: % of people who have a strong emotional connection to the property, among engaged

Purchase Consideration: % of people who are more likely to purchase a brand due to its sponsorship of the property, among engaged

Favorability: % of people who will be more favorable toward a brand due to its sponsorship of this property, among engaged.

America’s Most Popular Sport: By the Numbers

Drumroll Please

The NFL: America’s Most Popular Sport

Cue the Gatorade shower. Our data shows in terms of Opportunity Score, the NFL is America’s leading sport across all categories.

View the full report here.

The Leagues Trailing Closely Behind

NBA: A Near Swish

Ranked 4th across all properties, the NBA is hot on the NFL's heels, with potential sponsor impact that trails the NFL by only 4%.

Check out the full report here.

MLB: Sitting Pretty in the Catbird Seat

Although more US residents engage with the MLB compared to the NBA, it doesn't drive as strong of an emotional connection among engaged fans. Ultimately, the league's potential as a sponsorship partner lags, placing it 3rd on our list.

Get the full report here.

NHL: Just off the Crossbar

The NHL has some room for growth among US consumers compared to other sports leagues, however, it still takes 4th place on our list of top sports leagues, engaging more than 93.28MM US residents in the past year.

Download the full report here.

Leverage Insights with SponsorPulse

There we have it, the NFL is America’s Most Popular Sport! While we can’t say we didn’t have a hunch—the sheer magnitude of the Super Bowl tipped us off—we’d be remiss to not acknowledge the importance of contextualizing property data among competitors when making sponsorship decisions.

While this article broke down America’s sports properties by key metrics, these insights are the tip of the iceberg of what SponsorPulse has to offer.