2026 NFL Fan Report

Understand the fans behind the game

Fandom is more than a badge of loyalty. It is a complex mix of identity, media habits, interests, influence, purchasing behaviour and participation. The challenge is understanding which of those signals matter most, and how they differ across generations, locations and audience groups.

The 2026 NFL Fan Report explores those differences in detail, showing how team preference, player affinity, media consumption and wider lifestyle interests shape the modern NFL audience. Rather than treating fans as one broad segment, the report reveals the distinct communities and behaviours that can help organisations build more relevant partnerships, campaigns and customer experiences.

What you’ll learn:

• Where reach and affinity diverge across teams, generations and markets, and how that can shape smarter sponsorship, targeting and partnership decisions
• Which media, brands, interests and influencers over-index with NFL audiences, and how these signals can unlock more relevant retail and fan engagement strategies
• How different forms of participation, from fantasy to streaming, influence player and team engagement, and what this means for campaign planning and activation
• How fan preferences shift across generations and demographics, and how those differences can inform more relevant messaging, offers and audience strategies

The real value comes from moving beyond a broad definition of “sports fan” and understanding which audience matters, what distinguishes them and which teams, players, interests and media environments provide the strongest route to connect with them. That insight can help sports teams deepen fan engagement, while giving retailers a clearer basis for audience targeting, partnerships, merchandising and campaign planning.

Download the 2026 NFL Fan Report and discover what really defines today’s NFL fan.