Category Interesting Facts

30+ Outstanding NFL Facts and Stats to Inspire You in 2024

Author Toni Published on 10 min read

Last modified on February 7th, 2024 at 5:11 pm

36 Outstanding NFL Facts and Stats to Inspire You in 2022

The National Football League is undoubtedly one of the most-watched and followed sporting events in the world.


Despite the pandemic affecting some of the dynamics of sports, the games go on! We’ve listed down NFL facts and stats that you’ll enjoy reading.

Top 10 Fascinating NFL Statistics

  • The average career length of an NFL player is 3.3 years.
  • In 2021, the average franchise value of an NFL team stood at $3.48 billion.
  • Tom Brady is the top NFL Quarterback with 278 wins in total.
  • The Dallas Cowboys have the highest gross revenue amongst all NFL teams.
  • NFL TV broadcasting rights have reached a total of $105 billion.
  • NFL’s player minimum annual salary is $660,000.
  • NFL’s 2022 salary cap is set at $208.2 million.
  • With a $300 million sponsorship, Verizon is said to be the  National Football League’s biggest sponsor.
  • The NFL has had at least 16 million viewers every season since 2008.
  • Patrick Mahomes is the current highest-paid NFL player with a $45 million annual salary for the next 10 years.

General NFL statistics

1. How long is the average NFL career?

(Chron, Wall Street Journal)

NFL stats show that depending on the player’s position, NFL players can have a career lasting as short as 2.5 years (running backs). According to the stats, kickers have the longest-lasting career of close to 5 years.

2. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the record for the longest-lasting losing streak in NFL history. 

(NFL)

The Buccaneers lost 26 games in a row until this streak was broken in 1977. Despite this, the Bucs have won their 2nd Super Bowl last 2020, and their first back in 2003.

3. Who has the most Super Bowl wins?

(One37PM)

Both the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers have been the dominant ones on the leaderboards with each of them winning 6 Super Bowls. The Steelers had their first Super Bowl win after 42 years!

4. Tom Brady is considered the top NFL Quarterback with the most number of wins of 263.

(Sportskeeda, Business Insider)

He’s considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time because he has 263 victories from combined regular and postseason games. Tom Brady also has the most number of appearances on Super Bowl at 10 instances and also gained 5 Super Bowl MVP awards. He has won in 34 games postseason.

5. How many footballs are used in an NFL game?

(Physical Education Update)

According to the latest NFL rules, each game must have 36 approved footballs.

6. How long are football games in NFL?

(Mirror)

The game is divided into four 15-minute quarters. However, the typical game takes 3 hours and 12 minutes to finish.

7. Where was the first NFL game played?

(NFL)

In 1920, the Dayton Triangles team manager Carl Storck attended the teams first organizational meeting, followed by a few weeks later, on October 3,1920, the Triangles played the first-ever NFL game against the Columbus Panhandles at Triangle Park, winning 14-0.

NFL Revenue Statistics

8. In 2021, the average franchise value of an NFL team stood at $3.48 billion.

(Statista, ESPN)

NFL league stats report that since 2000, franchise value has been continuously increasing. It jumped from $423 million to more than a billion dollars, reaching $3.48 billion by 2021.

NFL franchises have bigger value than any other US sport, even when compared to Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a 29% franchise value increase in 2021.

(ESPN)

Due to a significant change in the roster in 2021, the Buccaneers ramped up their value from $2.28 billion to $2.94 billion.

10. The National Football League teams had total revenue of $12.02 billion in 2020.

(Statista, Forbes)

Each of the 32 teams had an average revenue of $381 million despite the dip in NFL’s revenue because of the pandemic.

11. The Dallas Cowboys have the highest gross revenue amongst all NFL teams.

(Statista)

NFL revenue statistics show that other than being the highest valued franchise at $6.5 billion in 2020, these Cowboys have brought in 800 million in gross revenue and have won 5 Super Bowls.

The second-highest revenue-generating team is the New England Patriots with $478 million generated in the same year.

12. In 2019, an NFL team’s average operating income was $108.63 million.

(Statista)

The operating income refers to the amount of profit a team will generate after the deduction of expenses such as the team’s salary.

This has continued to increase year after year, and in fact, the average operating income 17 years ago was at $32.68 million.

13. The most recent value of NFL TV broadcasting rights totalled up to $105 billion or $10 billion per year.

(Sports Business Journal, NFL.com, Forbes)

NFL previously signed a contract valued at $27 billion that spanned for 9 years. In 2021, NFL was able to sign different broadcasting deals with CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN worth $105 billion, and a deal with Amazon, which now broadcasts Thursday Night Football.

14. NFL received a whopping total of $1.62 billion from sponsorship deals in 2021.

(Statista)

Huge companies always take the chance to get their brand across NFL games, which gives them exposure to millions of viewers. As a result, sponsorship spending has increased annually since 2010.

15. With a $300 million sponsorship, Verizon is said to be the National Football League’s biggest sponsor.

(Sportscasting)

Since many NFL fans stream the games via mobile devices, Verizon Wireless offered a $300 million sponsorship to the NFL. It now has the mobile streaming rights for in-market and national games.

NFL Viewers & Fans Statistics

16. A survey by Statista reports that 45% of its male respondents are avid fans of the NFL.

(Statista)

Among the NFL interesting facts, reports of a survey by Statista state that almost half of male respondents consider themselves avid NFL fans. In contrast, 43% of female respondents are not NFL fans.

17. Black avid fans of the NFL are the largest ethnic group amongst NFL fans.

(Statista)


According to a survey by Statista where interest in the NFL was measured, 32% of Black respondents are avid fans of the NFL, followed by Hispanic (32%) and White (30%) respondents.

Mind-Blowing NFL Players Statistics

18. Who is the all-time passing yard leader in the UK?

(ESPN)

With 84,520 pass yards, Tom Brady is the passing yards leader. Coming in second is Drew Brees with 80,358 passing yards.

19. Who has the highest number of touchdown passes in NFL history?

(Athlon Sports)

With 624 touchdown passes, Tom Brady puts himself on another NFL leaderboard. Drew Brees holds the second place with 571 TD passes, followed by Peyton Manning (539 TD passes), Brett Fave (508 TD passes), and Aaron Rodgers (449 TD passes).

20. Who has the highest average annual player salary in the NFL?

(Statista)

In the 2019/20 season, the players of the Atlanta Falcons had an average salary of $4.71M. On the other hand, the team with the second-highest average player salary were the Philadelphia Eagles at $3.91M. 

Despite the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots having the highest gross revenue, their annual player average salary stands at $2.97 million and $ 3.21 million, respectively.

21. What is the minimum NFL player salary?

(Statista)

The minimum annual player salary in the NFL stands at $660,000, which is almost double the salary players received in 2011. The number is expected to rise by 2030 when players will most likely receive a minimum annual salary of over $1 million.

22. How much is the NFL salary cap?

(NFL)

NFL’s 2022 salary cap is set at $208.2 million. The salary cap was previously lowered due to the pandemic, which was at $198.2 million in 2020, then turned to $182.5 in 2021.

23. Who is the highest-paid NFL player?

(NFL)

With an annual salary of $45 million, Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes is the highest-paid NFL player. The 25-year-old quarterback signed one of the biggest NFL contracts and will start playing for Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022 season.

Some of the other quarterbacks with the highest annual salary include:

  • Josh Allen of Buffalo Bills  – $43 million
  • Dak Prescott of Dallas Cowboys – $40 million
  • Deshaun Watson of Houston Texans – $39 million
  • Russell Wilson of Seattle Seahawks – $35 million

24. Dak Prescott is the NFL player with the highest income from salary, bonuses, and endorsements.

(Statista)


In 2021, Dak Prescott managed to amass $87 million, $75 million from salary and bonuses, and $12 million from endorsements. The second-highest-paid player is Tom Brady, with $27.5 million earned from salary and bonuses and $45 million from endorsements.

NFL Attendance & Stadiums Statistics

25. The average attendance number per season stands at 16 million. 

(Statista)

Since 2008, approximately 16 million spectators per season have attended the NFL regular-season games. However, this number briefly dropped down to less than 3 million spectators in the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

26. In 2020, the average attendance per game dropped from close to 70K to less than 6K spectators.

(Statista)

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the average number of spectators per NFL game. In 2020, this number stood at only 6K, while it was at least ten times higher in the year prior to the pandemic.

27. The highest attendance at an NFL International game was in London in 2018, with a total of 85,870 spectators.

(Statista)

The NFL International series has been holding games outside of the US since 2007 and is usually held at the Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium. The highest attendance was at the game in 2018 between the Eagles and Jaguars.

Amazing Super Bowl Statistics

28. Which team has the most Super Bowl appearances?

(Sports Illustrated)

The New England Patriots have reached the championships 11 times and won 6 times. As per NFL game stats, Brady and Belichick have been considered as the team’s winning combination into getting the team into a winning streak. Coming up second are the Pittsburg Steelers, with 6 wins and 8 Superbowl appearances.

29.  There are 4 teams that have never played in a Super Bowl.

(Sporting News)

The teams that have never participated in one of the most viewed sports events are Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. The farthest playoff appearance was by the Browns in 2002, and the Houston Texans were in 2018.

30. Miami has hosted the most Super Bowls in NFL history.

(Statista)

With a total of 11 Super Bowls, Miami, Florida is the city that hosted Super Bowls the most times.

Sports Betting & NFL

The National Football League has embraced online sports betting and has even allowed a limited number of betting companies to advertise during commercial breaks. It’s also been predicted that wagers are to increase this coming season.

31. There are 3 major types of bets you can place for the NFL: money lines, point spreads, and totals.

(Odds Shark, Action Network)

These types of bets are available at various online legal betting sites.

32. As of September 2021, 5.6% of Britons engage in sports betting including NFL within a month’s period.

(Statista)

Since 2017, there has been a steady number of people taking part in sports betting extending as much as 6.9% back in 2019.

33. 18% of Americans, plan to participate in the 2021 NFL sports betting season.

(American Gaming Association)

According to the American Gaming Association, 45.2 million Americans are looking forward to betting on NFL. In addition, the number of interested bettors has increased by 32%.

34. Super Bowl 52 (2018) had $158.6 million worth of bets.

(Odds Shark, PlayUSA)

The Super Bowl 54 had $154.7 million bets, and as per PlayUSA, Super Bowl 55 is expected to see more than $500 million wagers.

Also, NFL fantasy betting is also one of the most popular ways to bet in the US.

Go Big or Go Home!

As Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not whether you get knocked DOWN, it’s whether you get UP.”

There’s nothing small about the NFL at all. But, whether you look at the fan base, viewer count, sponsorships, salary, venues, and the play, you’ll find how these NFL facts are just as amazing to read about.

Sources:

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