Although the reintroduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) a couple of weeks ago was Starbucks’s version of ushering in the end of summer, the true American shift in my head is the start of the NFL. This Sunday you can find me at the local bar with a beer tower, bets loaded, ready to cheer. In the meantime, let’s discuss the business of it all.
Football is back
Tonight marks the return of football szn as the Chiefs face off against the Lions on Thursday Night Football (TNF) hosted by Amazon Prime (this is not an ad). As a business, the NFL is the highest-valued sport in the world:
The highest-valued team in the world is the Dallas Cowboys, America’s team, at a record $9 billion. They generate about $1.1 billion in revenue from a combination of ticket sales, merch, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships. For reference, that’s about the size of a small tech company.
Football is America’s most representative brand. Not only does it encompass our love for competition and entertainment, but it also acts as a platform for public discourse. Whether it’s Colin Kaepernick taking a knee back in 2016 during the national anthem to protest against racial injustice, or Aaron Rodgers’s dispute with the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols last year, the league is made up of individuals who still have a voice even when they’re part of a team. Other notable points of athletes using their platform for content in American sports include the New Heights podcast with the Kelce brothers (NFL), and The Draymond Green Show (NBA). In this new age of content, any individual with any platform is entering the creator economy.
Place your bets
One big contribution to the increasing interest in football is, of course, sports betting.
Since the legalization of sports betting, NFL viewership has risen every year, other than the pandemic-influenced 2020-21 season. This year (2022), regular-season NFL games attracted an average of 17.9 million viewers, marking a 20-percent increase from 2017 and a return to the ratings successes of the early 2010s. - Forbes
I’ve admitted it before, and I’ll say it again, If you were to ask me anything about football before 2021, all I could tell you was maybe who won the Super Bowl. But since I’ve moved to the great state of New York, where sports gambling is legal, I’ve suddenly become not just interested but fascinated — I write this as I draft three different fantasy football teams. We’ve looked at the rise in sports gambling in a recent post, and know that it generally signals a negative externality when done excessively, but the demand that arises once legal (supplied) could be partly attributed to the novelty of it. Does the increased interest in the sport, and subsequently a positive force in the economy, justify the legal vice? With the increasing popularity of weed legalization, it boils down to letting the people, or rather the states, make that decision — which is exactly what’s happening.
Patriotism
At 39%, the share of U.S. adults who are “extremely proud” to be American is essentially unchanged from last year’s 38% record low. The combined 67% of Americans who are now extremely or “very proud” (28%) also aligns with the historically subdued 65% reading one year ago.
Another 22% of U.S. adults currently say they are “moderately proud,” while 7% are “only a little” and 4% “not at all.” - Gallup
Despite American patriotism continuing to ride at record-low rates, the NFL expects their 2023-2024 season to grow even bigger in both value and viewership. At face value, the two appear unrelated as the declines in patriotism include a multitude of external factors from cost of living, to political issues and international affairs; paired with post-covid tingles, and it’s not a surprise that Americans are feeling a bit down. But on the flip side, it appears that American entertainment is at an all-time high. Recent events that come to mind, like the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the Taylor Swift Era’s tour, and the anticipated NFL season show that people are desperate for an experience. I use desperate because this all comes at the cost of declining savings rates and increased consumer credit.
I know the narrative seems obvious: We lockdown for two years, open up to all sorts of socioeconomic issues, mostly having to do with inflation, and are bombarded with stories about corrupt politicians and the war in Ukraine. It makes sense that people just want to go out and enjoy themselves, even if it might be a bit above their budget. But even if these are all distractions or attempts at escape, they are still comparable to American patriotism because at the core of this country lies the consumer, and the most patriotic thing you could do, besides serving, is participate in the economy.
Thank you
Usually, when athletes or celebrities speak out on social or political topics, there’s a mixed reaction of those who either agree or disagree with what they're saying and those who just tell them to shut up. While I can understand the sentiment behind ‘shut up and dribble’ or keeping politics outside of football, it feels deeply un-American to silence someone just because you don’t like what you’re hearing. American sports are one of the few topics where the media and the news are about the game, regardless of what side you root for. An interesting thought experiment would be to treat politicians like athletes, analyzing their stats instead of hanging on every word. And I’d say the best place to send a message would be on neutral ground, which sports will always be. If you have any questions, want more explanations, wanna talk about either movie, or strongly disagree, comment below, follow me on Twitter (X), follow me on Threads, or shoot me an email.
Very well said.
Love it.