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Tag: NFL

The Price of Pushing Limits: Why Athlete Injuries are on the Rise

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Wyatt Harms

Athelo Group

A running back plants to cut, his knee buckles, and every football fan winces. As trainers jog onto the field, viewers already suspect a torn ACL before the broadcast even airs the replay.

They’re often right. From 2012 to 2023, 524 NFL players tore an ACL, an injury that takes nearly a year to come back from. It’s also one of the clearest signs of a bigger trend across sports: athletes keep pushing their bodies to the limit, and they’re getting hurt more often and more severely.

So why are injuries on the rise? Modern sports reward maximum effort: year-round training, faster and more explosive movement, and higher intensity. Today’s athletes may be progressing faster than their tendons and ligaments can handle.

The good news is that sports medicine is keeping pace. Advances in surgery and rehab are bringing athletes back sooner and closer to their pre-injury form, and recovery has become one of the biggest trends in sports and on social media.

Quick Highlights

  • Sports injuries send Americans aged 5-24 to the emergency room 2.7 million times per year, with football the leading cause.
  • The NFL recorded 524 ACL tears between the 2012-13 and 2022-23 seasons. Any given player has a 1.9% chance of tearing his ACL during the season.
  • Tommy John (UCL) surgeries in professional baseball tripled from 104 in 2010 to 314 in 2020. 
  • Female athletes are 2-8 times more likely to tear their ACL than male athletes.
  • 83% of professional athletes return to their pre-injury level after ACL reconstruction.

Faster, Stronger, and More Fragile?

The modern athlete is a product of optimization. Teams have become remarkable at tracking every data point and turning it into wins on the field, and pushing athletes even harder is increasingly important. The problem is that muscle can be trained faster than ligaments and tendons can adapt.

No league demonstrates this better than the NFL. Since Next Gen Stats, an RFID player analytics system, was implemented in 2016, organizations have gained easier access to data such as speed and acceleration. Tyreek Hill and Raheem Mostert have both reached top speeds above 23 mph. At speeds like that, every hard cut puts an enormous load on the knee and ankle.

Wide receivers tear their ACLs more often than any other positional group in the NFL. Two-thirds of tears occur in games, and injuries are more common in the first half of the season.

Scheduling plays a significant role as well. Players are 1.5 times more likely to tear an ACL on a short week than in a normal week with seven days between games. Every team plays at least one Thursday Night Football game, which means two games in the same week.

How Other Leagues Stack Up

People commonly point to the playing surface as a culprit for more injuries. When Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the opening drive of his New York Jets career, the NFL Players Association renewed its calls for grass fields throughout the league, citing player health and safety.

FIFA requires a natural grass playing surface, so 11 of its host stadiums for the 2026 tournament had to swap their turf for grass. The NFL, however, has found no significant difference in injury rates between artificial turf and grass fields.

The NFL isn’t the only big American sports league dealing with injury troubles. Major League Baseball has seen a surge in Tommy John surgeries and general arm injuries, and the NBA saw stars Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard tear their Achilles during the 2025 playoffs.

Athletes continue to get faster and stronger, but the trend is clear: the human body may not be able to keep up.

Are Injuries Starting in Youth Sports?

Many professional athletes’ injuries begin long before they reach the highest level of competition. Youth athletes now choose one sport early and play it year-round, chasing recruiting attention and scholarships. Football accounts for the highest share of youth sports ER visits due to frequent collisions and immense stress on growing bones and joints.

The jump to the NFL presents its own risk. Players with three or fewer years in the league tear an ACL at a rate almost twice that of league veterans. Adapting to the NFL’s speed and strength almost instantly is a tall task for new players.

Injury risk is even greater for female athletes. Women are significantly more likely than men to tear an ACL, with rates climbing for girls aged 11 to 17. Athletes who stick to one sport year-round face a 31% higher risk of significant injury than multi-sport athletes. The conversation made waves beyond basketball when USC star JuJu Watkins tore her ACL during the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Proactivity and proper training can aid prevention, but when injuries do happen, medicine is ready to help.

athlete injuries

How Sports Medicine Is Redefining the Comeback

Modern medical advancements are the reason athletes are able to recover from devastating injuries.

Take Tommy John surgery. When Dr. Frank Jobe pioneered the risky procedure in 1974, it was a long shot that pitcher Tommy John would return to the mound. He ended up pitching for 14 seasons after surgery. Today, over 80% of MLB pitchers who undergo the procedure return to the league.

Recovery from Tommy John takes close to a year, even with refinements and mastery over the past half-century. But the next step may already be here.

UCL repair with an internal brace reinforces the athlete’s existing ligament rather than replacing it altogether. Of the patients who undergo this procedure, 92% return to play in an average of 6.7 months.

Knee and Achilles repairs have followed a similar path. Many athletes who tear an ACL return to their pre-injury levels after surgery, and most perform at levels matching their uninjured leaguemates. Achilles tears were once the poster child for career-ending injuries, but treatment has improved rapidly as well. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in 2019 and returned 18 months later to play at an elite level. Cam Akers suffered the injury in July 2021 and made an unprecedented return in under six months, contributing to the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl 56 victory.

Rehabilitation has also become much more data-driven. Wearables track factors such as workload and heart rate, and force plates compare strength between legs. Data can be obtained more easily and converted into actionable steps. ACL patients are not allowed to start running until they regain at least 80% of their pre-surgery strength.

The most difficult part of recovery is often mental. Many athletes who never return from major surgery cite fear of reinjury as a key factor. It can be extremely difficult for athletes to completely shift their routines and constantly worry whether they will ever return to form because of something outside their control. The biggest hurdle in an athlete’s comeback may be the belief that they can make one in the first place.

How Recovery Products Went Mainstream

Recovery processes and tools that were once exclusive to the highest-level athletes have transformed into a consumer category worth billions.

The sports recovery market was valued at around $4.2 billion in 2025, including everything from cold plunge tanks to massage guns to infrared saunas. The cold plunge segment by itself is projected to double from $0.6 billion to $1.3 billion over the next decade.

The concept is simple: elite athletes adopt new systems and practices, and suddenly everyone wants to get their hands on them. Many North American sports teams have incorporated cold-water immersion into their routines. Gyms have rapidly invested in spaces for cold plunges, saunas, cryotherapy chambers, and compression boots, and a gym’s recovery space now affects where people choose to train.

It’s the same dynamic that has driven the rise of competitive fitness among everyday people. Everyone from elite athletes to weekend warriors has prioritized recovery to stay on top of their health. Wearables measure things such as heart rate variability, sleep scores, and VO2 max, and they allow users to adjust their lifestyle and see their numbers improve.

Sleep, nutrition, and training will always be the foundation of proper recovery, but these new tools can supplement the process.

Recovery as Content

Recovery products took off because they’re visible. These tools commonly show up in athletes’ training videos, locker room clips, and on the bench.

Leagues and brands began to take notice. The NBA named Hyperice its official recovery technology partner in 2020. Professional athletes not only endorsed the brand but also wanted in. Among the athletes who invested in Hyperice were Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, and Naomi Osaka.

The products aren’t the only subject of content; the rehabilitation process itself is too. Recovering athletes document their comebacks through milestones such as therapy, drills, and running, which keeps them connected to their audience and gives fans a place to voice their support.

Authentic recovery builds trust, which is exactly what brands and sponsors search for. Athelo Group’s Dani Speegle and her partnership with KRĒO come to mind. Audiences and companies can easily discern whether an athlete truly implements products in their recovery or is simply chasing a paycheck. Partnerships last when each party is engaged.

athlete injuries

What’s Next for Athlete Health?

Athletes continue to push the human body to new limits, and the injury report reflects that. The cost of being elite is often substantial.

At the same time, injuries are becoming more of a temporary absence from competition. Faster, better surgeries, higher rates of returning to form, and more calculated rehab efforts are not just saving careers but elevating them. They’ve also allowed the recovery industry to shine on its own.

The next key step in sports is prevention. The athletes who last the longest won’t just be those who return to form the fastest. They’ll be those who never need to make a comeback at all.

FAQ:

  1. What is the most common serious injury in the NFL? The torn ACL is both common and significant. Knee injuries account for 20-30% of football injuries, while ACL tears make up almost 2% by themselves.
  2. How long does it usually take to recover from major injuries? Most athletes need nine months to recover from an ACL tear and 12 months to recover from a UCL or Achilles tear.
  3. What is the difference between an ACL and MCL tear? The ACL controls rotation and forward movement, while the MCL is a major stabilizer of the knee. The ACL almost always requires surgery, while the MCL often does not.
  4. How can poor recovery affect injury risk? Poor recovery can cause the body to fatigue and compensate by shifting workload onto other muscles, which increases stress and injury risk.

Is the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show Now the Main Event?

Posted on by Athelo Group

By EJ Gorman

Athelo Group

The Super Bowl halftime show used to be a bathroom break. Marching bands and themed shows filled the time while viewers grabbed snacks, stretched their legs, or changed the channel. The first halftime show in 1967 featured a trumpeter and two college marching bands, and for years the format barely changed. Nobody was planning their night around it.

Today it’s a completely different story. Halftime is one of the most-watched live performances in the world, with 128.2 million U.S. viewers tuning in for Bad Bunny in 2026 and billions more watching clips online. For many fans, it’s the main reason they tune in. Some people couldn’t tell you the score of the game, but they can tell you exactly what the performer wore, which guests showed up, and which moment took over their feed the next morning.

So what changed?

A comedy show, a pop superstar, and a lot of data. In 1992, a competing broadcast showed that viewers would leave halftime if given somewhere else to go. In 1993, Michael Jackson gave them a reason to stay. From there, streaming and social media turned a 13-minute break into a year-round cycle of announcements, speculation, and replays. One that artists, brands, and the NFL now build entire strategies around.

Quick Highlights

  • In 1992, Fox aired a live episode of In Living Color against the halftime show, and CBS reportedly lost about 22% of its audience.
  • Michael Jackson’s 1993 show was the first time Super Bowl ratings went up between halves.
  • Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 show set the U.S. live record at about 133.5 million viewers.
  • Roc Nation reported that Bad Bunny’s 2026 show reached 4.157 billion views worldwide, including social media and YouTube.
  • Bad Bunny’s Apple Music streams jumped seven times higher after the show.
  • Bad Bunny’s 2026 halftime show drew 128.2 million U.S. viewers, about eight times the average World Series game in 2025.

How Halftime Became a Must-See

For the first 26 Super Bowls, halftime was filler, not a headline.

The first Super Bowl halftime in 1967 featured a trumpeter and two college marching bands, and the shows didn’t change much for years. In 1991, the NFL tried something new by booking New Kids on the Block, the first contemporary pop act to play halftime. But the real wake-up call came a year later.

The 1992 Super Bowl halftime featured a winter-themed production with Olympic skaters, and it was widely panned. Meanwhile, Fox, then a young network, aired a live episode of a sketch comedy show, In Living Color, as an alternative. Viewers switched in huge numbers, with reports putting the audience at more than 20 million.

The message to the NFL was clear. Halftime needed to be more than a performance. It needed to be an event. The concern wasn’t necessarily that viewers found skating boring, but that the show lacked the star power, spectacle and appeal needed to hold the attention of the NFL’s massive audience. 

Fans expected a cultural moment, not simply a break in the game. If the entertainment failed to meet those expectations, the fear was that viewers would tune out, or leave altogether.

The league’s answer was Michael Jackson in 1993. His performance drew an estimated 133 million viewers, and it was the first time in Super Bowl history that ratings rose during halftime. It even boosted his album sales by 83%. From then on, the NFL kept booking major pop stars, and the show kept growing.

The Show Is Now a Cultural Moment

Modern halftime shows aren’t just concerts. They’re built to be clipped, shared, and argued about online. A single moment can dominate social media for days, and artists plan their sets with that in mind.

Bad Bunny’s 2026 halftime performance was more than a musical spectacle. It was a cultural milestone that brought Puerto Rican identity and Latin culture to one of America’s biggest stages.

As the first halftime headliner to perform almost entirely in Spanish, he challenged traditional ideas of mainstream entertainment and showed that a global audience doesn’t have to share the same language to connect with a performance. The show featured hits like “DtMF,” guest appearances from Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga, and a real wedding staged live during the broadcast.

The show showcased meaningful cultural representation. For Latino audiences, it was a powerful moment of visibility. For the NFL, it demonstrated how halftime entertainment can attract new audiences and spark conversations far beyond football. The performance also became part of a broader cultural discussion about identity, inclusion, and what it means to be American.

Ultimately, Bad Bunny showed that the most memorable halftime shows do more than entertain. They create cultural moments that resonate long after the final whistle.

The online reach was just as big as the TV audience. According to the NFL, over half of its social media views came from outside the U.S., and some of the league’s most-viewed posts ever came from this show. It shows how far halftime now reaches beyond American football fans. Fans watching clips on their phones and on social media around the world don’t necessarily care who wins the football game.

NFL Super Bowl Halftime

Why Artists and the NFL Both Win

The NFL’s reason is simple: a huge halftime show keeps viewers glued to the screen. In fact, the 2026 broadcast of the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots had a peak audience of 137.8 million during the second quarter, a record for the game.

For artists, the payoff comes in the days after. Following Bad Bunny’s show, his Apple Music streams went up sevenfold, and he took over the top spots on Spotify’s U.S. chart within days.

It also shows how closely sports and entertainment are tied together now. Leagues act like media companies, and musicians treat the Super Bowl like the biggest stage of their year.

Each side needs the other to reach a bigger audience.

Is It Getting Too Big?

Not everyone loves this trend. Some fans think halftime has become too polished and corporate, with every detail planned to be shareable. When a show is designed to go viral, it can start to feel more like a marketing event than a live performance. And with so many sponsors, partners, and platforms involved, there’s less room for the messy, unpredictable moments that people remember most.

Picking the performer is its own challenge. No choice can make everyone happy. Choose a global superstar and some fans feel left out. Choose a safe act and the show feels forgettable. The NFL has to balance broad appeal with cultural relevance, and every year the internet has strong opinions on whether it got the balance right.

The 2026 show proved how divided opinions can be. A rival halftime broadcast aired online during the game, and it drew millions of viewers of its own. Whether you loved the main show or skipped it, that kind of split shows how much people care about who gets the stage.

There’s also a bigger question about where the audience is going. Bad Bunny’s live U.S. TV audience was a bit lower than Kendrick Lamar’s the year before, but his global online views rose 137% over 2025. That suggests halftime is growing less on TV and more on phones and social feeds, which changes how these shows are built and who they’re built for.

That debate is a sign the show matters. A halftime performance that nobody argues about probably isn’t saying much, and the ones people remember tend to take a risk.

What Will Happen?

Halftime started as filler and became one of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. It grew because a comedy show proved audiences would leave, and because the NFL responded by chasing the biggest names in music. Michael Jackson showed that a great performance could pull in more viewers than the game itself, and every show since has been trying to top that.

Today, halftime is more than a TV event. It’s a global moment that lives on social media, streaming charts, and group chats long after the final whistle. Artists use it to reach new fans, the NFL uses it to hold its audience, and viewers use it to start conversations, whether they’re praising the show or complaining about it.

That’s what makes it so interesting for anyone who follows sports and entertainment. The line between the two keeps getting thinner, and halftime is the clearest example. As long as the audience keeps growing, expect the NFL to keep swinging big.

The next question isn’t whether halftime matters. It’s who gets the next stage, and what they’ll do with it.

FAQ:

  1. When did halftime shows start featuring pop stars? The NFL tried a pop act for the first time in 1991, but the big shift came in 1993 with Michael Jackson. That show worked so well that the league has booked major stars ever since.
  2. Who has the most-watched halftime show? It depends on how you count. In the U.S., Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 show leads live TV viewership at about 133.5 million. Globally, Bad Bunny’s 2026 show leads with 4.157 billion views across platforms, according to Roc Nation.
  3. Why do artists want to perform at halftime? The exposure is huge. Performers often see big jumps in streams and chart rankings right after the show, which can be worth more than a full tour.
  4. Is the halftime show really that important to the NFL? Yes. It keeps viewers watching through the break and brings in fans who might not follow football. In 2026, the broadcast set a record for peak viewership during the second quarter.
  5. Do all fans agree on who should perform? Not at all. Every pick sparks debate, and in 2026 a rival halftime broadcast drew its own audience online.

Priced Out of the Stands? The Real Cost of Being a Sports Fan

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Dallas Lorenzetti

Athelo Group

The final score isn’t the only number fans pay attention to when attending a game.

Before the first pitch, opening faceoff, or kickoff, a family may have already paid for tickets, transportation, and parking. Add food, drinks, and a souvenir, and the cost of an afternoon cheering for their favorite team can look very different from the ticket price that first caught their attention. 

Affordability is a major concern fans themselves recognize. In February 2025, 86% of fans believed sporting events were too expensive for the average person to attend.

For teams and brands, that raises a business question: How can live sports generate revenue while giving fans a realistic opportunity to participate?

Quick Highlights:

  • A 2026 NFL study estimated a $733.80 average outing for a group of four people attending a game. This included tickets, parking, and specified food/drink items. 
  • A 2026 study done by the MLB estimated only $225.90 for those combined purchases, while the NHL and NBA came in at an estimated $277.65 and $304.01 respectively. These are study benchmarks from different seasons and collection methods. 
  • 37% of sports fans identified affordable tickets as one of the most important elements of fandom in 2025. 
  • During the 2026 World Cup, Atlanta Stadium maintained $2 hot dogs and $2 refillable soft drinks for all games. 
  • The Phoenix Suns introduced a $2 menu for certain concession items for all games in December 2024. This displayed a new approach for fans to have affordable food during games. 
cost of being a sports fan

The Ticket is Only the Beginning

A ticket gets fans through the gate and into their seats. It does not necessarily cover the entire visit.  

Driving will require parking, while public transportation and rideshares create their own fees and expenses. Food and drink add yet another layer. Merchandise is optional, but a child’s first jersey or a limited edition souvenir cup can still become part of a family’s budget. 

Ticketing fees also deserve a lot of the negative attention. Sites like Ticketmaster explain that event organizers set the original ticket prices, while resellers set their own resale ticket prices. Its upfront displayed prices include mandatory fees, which are generally before taxes. There are also sometimes additional delivery charges that can be added at checkout. 

It is very important to understand the distinction. A resale listing is not necessarily the team’s original price, and it can sit well above or below face value. Fans comparing options should look at the final purchase total and the other costs of attending. 

The practical question becomes less about the cheapest ticket someone can find and more about what the full outing will cost their group as a whole.

What Does a Day at the Game Cost?

Published attendance studies offer a useful starting point, provided their assumptions stay visible.

These studies use tickets, one parking space, four hot dogs, two beers, and two sodas for a family of four. These reported averages illustrate the scale of a basic outing rather than the amount every family actually spends. 

  • NFL (2026): $733.80
  • MLB (2026): $225.90
  • NBA (2025/26): $277.65
  • NHL (2025/26): $304.01

These figures are not perfectly comparable. The NFL study uses the price of the lowest-priced available block of four tickets, while the MLB study multiplies the average entry level prices by four. Reportings by the MLB also estimate some concession prices. Collection dates and methods differ from league to league, and the packages do not include the purchase of any game day merchandise or travel accommodations. 

A family taking public transportation/transit, skipping alcohol, or choosing a promo package would most likely spend less. On the other end, better seats, additional food, and a hotel stay would push their total higher.

The Same Sport, a Different Price

Ticket prices involve several decisions made by various parties.

According to a study done by the NBA during the 2025/26 season, the estimated outing for four at a New York Knicks game reached $831.20. That price is nearly 3x more than the average $277.65 league benchmark. 

These numbers do not mean all Knicks games cost that much money. It gives us a better understanding of why a broad league average cannot substitute for checking a particular opponent, date, and seating option. 

For a fan choosing between certain games, the market and matchup play a much larger role than most people realize.

What Happened to the Affordable Day at the Game?

Today’s game day budget becomes much more revealing when looking at it compared to historical ticket prices.

According to a 2003 NFL data set, Team Marketing Report put the league’s average ticket prices at just $52.95. 20 years later, Team Marketing Report reported the average general ticket price at $120.94. 

This data set shows an increase of $67.99 per ticket, or an approximate 128.4% growth over just 20 years. When applying those averages to four tickets (admission only) this puts the 2003 total at $211.80 versus $483.76 in 2023.

A difference of $271.96 before parking, food, drinks, or souvenirs. 

These figures describe a specific historical period (2003-2023) rather than prices for every game today. They compare reported NFL average ticket prices from the same research series, not resale listings or the total family-outing estimates used elsewhere in this article. The increase is in nominal dollars, meaning it includes inflation. These numbers do not establish how much ticket prices rose relative to household income or general consumer prices. 

Even with distinctions such as these, the comparison shows why tickets deserve particular attention in discussions about accessibility. Multiplying a higher admission price across a family can change the outing’s budget before anyone has even entered the stadium. 

sports stadium prices

Why Prices Vary So Much

According to Ticketmaster, organizers consider factors including venue size, event interest, and production cost when setting these prices at face value. Resellers are then allowed to set their own prices at whatever they’d like. 

The study completed by the NBA also describes tiered pricing for visits by higher profile teams. Tickets cost more when teams like the Lakers, Warriors, and Celtics visit town. Seeing opponents with a rich history or larger fanbase carry a different price from simply just seeing the home team play.

For families, another issue that is seen fairly frequently is whether affordable tickets are available together. The 2026 NFL study showed that the league’s analysis changed its method to measure a block of four rather than the single cheapest listing. 

Four inexpensive tickets scattered throughout the stadium do not solve the same issues as four seats a parent and children can use together. The greater details behind a headline price can determine whether an offer is practical or not. 

When Fandom Becomes a Budget Decision

Fans can still love a team while also questioning the cost of seeing it live.

The findings from these studies make the statement above very clear. Affordability in tickets was identified as “most” important by 37% of fans, compared to the 24% who selected team success. Respondents could identify multiple priorities, so these figures clearly show there is a strong preference for cheaper tickets over a winning product. 

The business risk is worth considering. If attending becomes difficult to fit into a household budget, some families may choose fewer games or reserve the experience for special occasions. The studies do not establish that prices cause an attendance decline, but they do give teams a reason to take affordability concerns seriously. 

Live attendance creates opportunities for shared experiences, from a child’s first game to watching a favorite player warm up or continuing a family tradition. From a marketing perspective, making these experiences accessible could help teams attract first-time attendees and give existing fans more reasons to return. Family ticket packages, discounted youth admission, or bundles that include food and parking could make the total cost easier to plan for while giving teams a clear value proposition to promote.

These offers can also create opportunities to build relationships beyond a single ticket sale. Teams could follow up with attendees who opt into communications, promoting relevant games, youth events, or future ticket packages.

Fans who enjoy the experience may also share photos, recommend attending to friends, or bring others to their next game, extending the reach of the team’s marketing. Affordable access therefore has potential value beyond filling seats for one event: it can help introduce new fans to the team and encourage an ongoing connection.

Making Game Day More Accessible

Affordability can be addressed at several points within the visit.

During the 2026 World Cup, Atlanta Stadium offered $2 hot dogs and $2 refillable soft drinks to all fans. Management at the venue distinguished the food prices it controlled from ticket prices set by event promoters.

Affordable concessions do not make the tickets free. They show how various venues can address another portion of the budget while still providing fans a choice about what to buy.

sports ticket prices

Bundling the Experience

Food inclusive packages give fans a much clearer view of what an outing includes.

According to SeatGeek’s guide to 2026 MLB food offerings, the Athletics’ “Sunday Family Four Pack” starts at $99. This includes four tickets, four drinks, four hot dogs, and four bags of chips or popcorn. It also identifies the Astros’ Coca-Cola Ballpark Bundle, combining a ticket with a hot dog, soda, and popcorn at an advertised price between $29-$66 depending on the selected seats and section. 

For brands, packages such as these suggest a useful partnership opportunity.

In 2026, the St. Louis Cardinals introduced Coca-Cola Unlimited, offering tickets starting at $29 that included unlimited select ballpark foods and Coca-Cola products through the end of the eighth inning. The package illustrates how a brand can become part of the value fans receive from attending a game.

From a marketing perspective, this gives Coca-Cola product exposure while connecting its name with an accessible, memorable outing. Other sponsors could explore similar opportunities through food credits, ticket discounts, or transportation support, with athlete content helping explain the offers and encourage participation.

What the Future Holds

The cost of attending professional sporting events is ultimately a question about the relationship between the sports organization and its supporters.

Premium experiences can serve fans willing to spend more. Accessible tickets and concessions options deserve attention alongside them. Teams should consider whether supporters with different budgets have a realistic way to enjoy the same event. 

For brands, helping a fan attend or reducing a practical expense could make a partnership more meaningful than visibility alone. For athletes, promoting those opportunities could connect their influence with a tangible benefit for supporters.

The strongest game day experience should leave fans thinking about the memories they made, and looking forward to coming back.

FAQ:

  1. How much does it cost to attend a professional sporting event? There is no universal set price for these events. The studies cited above estimate outings for four using specific tickets, parking, and concession assumptions. The actual price depends on the game, seats, transportation, and purchases.
  2. Why can resale tickets cost more than the original ticket price? Resellers set their own listing prices, which may be above or below face value. Event organizers set the original prices for tickets.
  3. How can teams make attending games more affordable for fans? Examples of this include lower prices concession options and food inclusive package options. Examples like the Suns or from Atlanta Stadium illustrate those approaches. 
  4. What should fans budget for beyond tickets? Fans should budget for transportation, parking, applicable taxes/fees, food, drinks, and merchandise. There may also be additional costs for overnight travel depending on where these individuals are coming from. 

Sports Documentaries: The New Playbook for Athlete Branding

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Ethan Gorman

Athelo Group

The modern sports documentary is no longer just a recap of a season. It is a branding engine. 

For athletes, a few episodes of behind-the-scenes access can do what a press conference, highlight reel, or Instagram post can’t. It gives fans a reason to care beyond the game. 

Viewers get to see the preparation, pressure, family life, injuries, setbacks, and personalities that are usually hidden behind gameday performances.

That is why streaming platforms and leagues are investing so heavily in athlete-centered storytelling. Giving fans this inside access creates an emotional connection that highlights what happens beyond the final score. Series like Quarterback, Receiver, Starting 5, and Full Swing turn athletes into year-round personalities rather than people fans only watch on gameday. 

This allows audiences to follow athletes’ careers, engage with their content, and connect with the brands they partner with. The numbers back this up. From golf to basketball to women’s soccer, the results show just how far this kind of storytelling can carry an athlete’s brand.

Quick Highlights

  • Full Swing Season 1 was watched for 53.1 million hours between its February 2023 launch and the end of June, making it Netflix’s 267th most watched series in that period. 
  • 63% of Full Swing viewers watched PGA Tour coverage in the two months after the show’s debut, showing how athlete storytelling can create interest in the sport itself.
  • Starting 5 brings fans inside the 2023-2024 NBA season through Lebron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, and Domantas Sabonis. Rather than just recapping highlights, the series shows the personal expectations, family dynamics, and injuries that come with being the face of an NBA franchise. 
  • Netflix’s The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox gives baseball a more human entry point by following the Sox’ ups and downs of a full season. The behind-the-scenes access makes players feel less like distant names and more like personalities fans can be invested in.
  • Women’s sports are using the same model; Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team documented the USWNT’s 2023 World Cup. Full Court Press followed three elite women’s college basketball players through the 2023-2024 season. 
  • Netflix’s engagement report in 2023 covers more than 18,000 titles and nearly 100 billion hours of viewing, illustrating the scale athletes can reach when their stories live on a global platform. 

The Highlight Reel is No Longer Enough

A great play may dominate social media for a day. A great documentary can shape how fans see an athlete for years to come.

That difference matters. Highlights show what an athlete can do. Documentaries explain who they are. 

A quarterback can be seen as the face of a franchise, but Quarterback showed viewers the weekly preparation, family sacrifices, physical punishments, and leadership demands behind the position. 

The format also made the stakes of each week feel more personal. Viewers could see how much goes into leading a team when the cameras are off. From game-planning and recovery to handling setbacks in front of an entire organization. That kind of access gives fans a reason to care about an athlete’s journey even when they are not watching them on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes was already one of the NFL’s biggest stars, but the series gave fans a more complete version of him. Not just the Super Bowl quarterback, but the father and family man, teammate, and competitor. A great throw can impress a fan for a moment, but seeing the pressure of preparing for a game, the frustration of an injury, or the way a player interacts with his family gives that moment context.

The series also made fans more invested in players like Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota, whose stories were not always at the center of weekly NFL coverage. Following Cousins through the physical toll of the season and Mariota through the uncertainty around his role made their careers feel more personable and relatable. Fans do not build long-term loyalty to state lines. They build it around stories, struggles, and the people behind the jersey. 

From Athletes to Main Characters

The best documentaries borrow from the same formula that makes scripted TV work: clear stakes, personal conflict, and emotional highs and lows that fans want to follow. 

Starting 5 season 1 applied that formula to the NBA. The series did not simply recap the 2023-2024 season. It gave five players completely different storylines. 

Each player’s storyline showed a different version of what pressure looks like in the NBA. For some, it was the expectation to win immediately. For others, it was proving they could lead a team or sustain success over time. By putting those individual stakes front and center, the series gave fans a reason to see each player as more than the role they play on the court. 

Lebron James was chasing longevity in his 21st year. Jayson Tatum was pursuing a championship. Anthony Edwards was stepping into super star status. Jimmy Butler was navigating the intensity of Miami. Domantas Sabonis was trying to prove he belonged among the league’s best. 

The athletes were not interchangeable, and that is what made the show work. 

Sports Documentaries

Why Authenticity Drives Athlete Value

For brands, that distinction is important. 

A partnership with an athlete becomes more valuable when an audience understands the person behind the jersey. Fans can see which athletes are family-oriented, funny, obsessive about training, community-focused, or willing to speak honestly about what they believe. Those details give brands a clearer picture of what an athlete genuinely stands for. 

When a partnership connects naturally to the athlete’s real interest and lifestyle, it feels like an extension of their story instead of a forced advertisement. That authenticity makes the endorsement more credible to fans who are more likely to trust a product recommendation when it comes from an athlete they feel they actually know.  

Access is the Product

What makes documentary storytelling powerful is access. Specifically the kind that strips away the larger-than-life persona of professional sports. 

Showing film sessions, recovery routines, tedious travel days, and quiet family moments makes these athletes feel less like distant celebrities and more like human beings audiences can actually understand. 

Documentaries like Quarterback create immense value by revealing the raw emotional swings and everyday realities that happen between Sundays. The same is true for Netflix’s Receiver, which shifts the focus to the distinct personalities thriving in one of football’s most visible positions.

That emotional connection is a major advantage in a crowded sports media landscape. While content is more abundant than ever, genuine behind-the-scenes access remains scarce. When athletes open their lives beyond the field, the results feel far more personal and compelling than any traditional postgame interview. 

Full Swing Turned Golfers Into Personalities

Golf may be one of the best examples of how documentaries can change the way fans engage with athletes. 

Netflix’s Drive to Survive helped set the blueprint for this type of sports storytelling, giving Formula 1 fans access to the rivalries, personalities, and pressure that are often missed during a race broadcast. Its success showed how a documentary can make a sport feel more accessible to casual viewers while giving athletes and teams new ways to build their brands. 

Before Full Swing, many casual viewers knew the sport’s biggest names but had little understanding of the rivalries, travel, pressure, injuries, and career uncertainty that shape a PGA Tour season. The series made golfers more relatable by following them away from the course, where they were no longer just players in polos on a leaderboard.

The results were tangible. Full Swing logged 53.1 million hours viewed in its first four months, and its audience did not stay confined to Netflix. According to Nielsen data cited by the PGA Tour, 63% of viewers watched PGA Tour programming in the two months after watching the series.

That is the athlete-branding opportunity in its clearest form. The show did not need every viewer to become a golf expert. It only needed to make them care enough about a player, rivalry, or tournament to keep watching. 

When that happens, the athlete’s value grows beyond the course. Sponsors get a more engaged audience, the league reaches new fans, and athletes gain a larger platform to tell their own stories.

Baseball Finally Gets Its Behind-the-Scenes Moment

Baseball has always had personalities. It just has not always made them as accessible as other sports.

The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox is a step in that direction. The series follows the 2024 Boston Red Sox through the highs and lows of a full season, exploring pressure from a demanding fanbase, roster decisions, injuries, and the individual stories within the clubhouse. 

The last part is crucial. In a sport built around 162 games, the traditional broadcast often focuses on results. Who won, who homered, who is struggling. A documentary has that time to focus on why those moments matter to the people involved.

The series also showed the potential for sports documentaries to handle more meaningful conversations. Jarren Duran’s discussion of his mental-health journey brought a level of honesty that cannot be captured in a standard game broadcast. It gave fans a chance to see the human impact of professional sports, while allowing the athlete to define his own story. 

For baseball, that is an important opportunity. Younger audiences are drawn to athletes they can relate to and follow as people, not just players during a three-hour game. Giving fans an inside look can create the kind of attachment that turns a casual viewer into someone who follows the sport year-round. 

Women’s Sports and Storytelling

Women’s sports are built for this type of content because the opportunity is not only to deepen existing fandom. It’s to introduce athletes and leagues to entirely new audiences. 

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team followed Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Kelly O’Hara, and the USWNT through the 2023 World Cup. Across four episodes, the series showed the tension of a team chasing a third straight title while managing the expectations that come with being one of the most recognizable teams in global sports. 

Meanwhile, Full Court Press’ first season followed Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, and Kiki Rice during the 2023-2024 college basketball season. The series arrived at the exact moment women’s basketball was exploding in popularity, giving fans a closer look at the athletes driving the conversation. 

This is where documentary storytelling can have a profound impact that reaches far beyond the score. Showing the relentless work, distinct personalities, and intense pressure behind their performances makes female athletes household names before the biggest games, not after. 

On a broader level, this kind of visibility reshapes how society views women in high-stakes, competitive roles, challenging long-standing gender bias and inspiring the next generation. By humanizing these athletes, documentaries give both sponsors and society a deeper blueprint for investing in women as leaders, role models, and complete people. Not just players. 

The Brand Benefit

A documentary is still content, but it does not feel like an ad. That is why it works. 

A brand partnership built around an athlete’s documentary presence can feel more natural because viewers have already seen the athlete’s routines, values, and interests. The strongest opportunities do not force products into the story. They build from what fans already know about the athlete. 

If a viewer watches a golfer prepare for a major, a quarterback recover after a game, or a basketball player manage the demands of fame, they gain context. That context creates a more authentic relationship between athlete, fan, and brand.

The next generation of athlete marketing will not be built only on endorsements. It will be built on storytelling.

What Happens After the Credits

The biggest takeaway is simple: sports documentaries extend an athlete’s season.

An athlete may play once a week, once a month, and for only a few months out of the year. A documentary can keep them relevant long after the final whistle, putting them in front of audiences who do not normally watch their sport, and creating new opportunities for partnerships, appearances, social content, and long-term fandom.

The best athletes have always had compelling stories. These platforms are finally giving those stories the scale they deserve. 

For fans, that means better access. For leagues, it means new audiences. For brands, it means more authentic partnerships. 

And for athletes, it means the most valuable part of their brand may no longer be what happens during the game. It may be everything the cameras capture around it. 

FAQ:

  1. Why are sports documentaries so effective for athlete branding? They show fans the athlete beyond their performance. Behind-the-scenes access helps audiences connect with an athlete’s personality, routine, family life, challenges, and values, creating stronger long-term loyalty. 
  2. What makes a sports documentary different from regular sports coverage? Traditional coverage focuses on what happens during the game. Documentaries focus on the story behind it, including prep, pressure, relationships, and moments not on the broadcast.
  3. Do sports documentaries really help leagues grow as well as athletes? Yes. Full Swing is a strong example. The series drew 53.1 million viewing hours in its first four months, while data showed 63% of its viewers went on to watch PGA Tour programming in the two months following its release. 

The Trends Driving Viewership in Sports: What Makes America Tune In?

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Dallas Lorenzetti

Athelo Group

Not every sporting event is created equal.

In today’s world of sports, millions of fans follow their favorite teams throughout an entire season. However, certain games, rivalries, holidays, and championship moments also attract audiences far beyond a sport’s everyday fanbase.

Reports show that the NFL continues to dominate television ratings, college football’s biggest rivalries attract enormous audiences, and postseason games across the MLB, NBA, and NHL demonstrate just how much the stake of a game can influence how many people tune in. At the same time, global sports such as the FIFA World Cup have shown the ability to turn even the most casual sports fans into regularly scheduled viewers.

Understanding when fans tune in and what makes them watch has become increasingly valuable for not only the leagues, but also the networks and brands that represent them.

Quick Highlights

  • The NFL averaged approximately 18.7 million viewers per regular-season game during the 2025 season, continuing its position as the most watched sports league in the United States.
  • The 2025 NFL Thanksgiving slate averaged roughly 44.7 million viewers, demonstrating the impact tradition and scheduling can have on a sports audience.
  • “The Game” (Ohio State vs Michigan) attracted just under 18.5 million viewers in 2025, displaying the continued power of rivalry games in the world of college football.
  • The NHL experienced significant national television growth during the 2025-26 season, reaching its highest average regular-season audience in more than a decade.
  • The 2026 FIFA World Cup produced record setting U.S. audiences, highlighting the growing American appetite for international soccer and major global sporting events.
sports viewership trends

Football OWNS the Sports Calendar

Football holds a unique position within American sports culture. 

Every single weekend, from Labor Day to New Years, Saturday’s have become synonymous with college football, while Sunday’s belong to the NFL. Instead of simply giving fans games to watch, football has built a weekly routine around its product.

The NFL’s numbers demonstrate just how powerful that routine has become. The league averaged 18.7 million viewers per game during the 2025 regular season, up 10% from the previous year. That was the second-highest regular-season average since audience tracking began in 1988, trailing only the 19 million average recorded in 1989.

Part of football’s advantage comes from scarcity. An NFL team plays just 17 regular-season games, compared with 82 games for NBA and NHL teams and 162 for MLB. Every football game carries weight. A loss in September can eventually determine whether a team reaches the playoffs in January, giving fans a reason to tune in every week.

The NFL has also created recognizable viewing windows throughout the week. Sunday afternoon football transitions into Sunday Night Football, followed by Monday Night Football and eventually Thursday Night Football. Sunday Night Football averaged 23.5 million viewers during the 2025 season, putting it on pace to finish as television’s top-ranked primetime program for the 15th consecutive year.

College football has developed a similar grip on Saturdays. Few examples demonstrate this better than Ohio State and Michigan. Their 2025 matchup averaged 18.4 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched game of the college football regular season and the second-most-watched college football game ever aired on the network. 

Football’s dominance is not simply a result of Americans loving the sport. Its limited schedule, recognizable viewing windows, historic rivalries, and weekly importance have created an environment where missing one game can feel like missing a major part of the season. 

The Bigger the Stakes, the Bigger the Audience

Regular-season games build fandom, but the postseason often brings the more casual fan into the conversation.

The NBA provided one of the clearest examples of this throughout their 2026 season. The league had 57 telecasts averaging at least two million viewers, the most since the 2011-12 season. Nineteen games surpassed three million viewers, showing strong interest throughout the year.

Once the NBA Finals arrived, however, those numbers reached another level. The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 20.6 million viewers across the 2026 NBA Finals, the league’s largest Finals audience in 28 years. The Knicks championship clinching Game 5 win averaged 24.5 million viewers and peaked at 33 million as they captured their first championship in 53 years.

The NHL experienced a similar postseason boost. After averaging 546,000 viewers across national regular-season broadcasts, the 2026 Stanley Cup Final averaged 5.2 million viewers across six games on ABC. The championship series was up 106% from 2025, while the deciding Game 6 averaged 5.9 million viewers and peaked at 7.2 million.

The Power of the “Casual” Fan

Baseball is also another example of how dramatically the postseason can elevate attention.

Through the 2025 League Championship Series (LCS), MLB’s postseason was averaging 4.48 million U.S. viewers, up 13% year over year and its strongest mark since 2017. 

Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between Toronto and Seattle drew 9.03 million viewers in the United States alone as the Blue Jays earned their first trip to the World Series in 32 years.

These jumps help demonstrate the power of the “casual” sports fan. Someone may not watch a random NBA game in February, an NHL game in November, or an MLB game in June. However, once a championship is within reach, the game becomes more than another date on the schedule.

The higher the stakes become, the greater the feeling that something historic could happen. And when history is possible, people tend to watch.

Rivalries, Stars, and Storylines

The importance of a game matters, but so does who is playing in it.

One of the strongest examples of this is rivalries. Ohio State vs Michigan is played every season, but “The Game” consistently attracts an audience more comparable to postseason football than an ordinary regular-season matchup. The 18.4 million viewers who watched in 2025 demonstrate the value created by decades of history, fan loyalty, and genuine dislike between two programs.

Star power can create a similar effect. Shohei Ohtani has helped turn Los Angeles Dodgers games into international viewing events. During Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series, Ohtani delivered one of the most memorable postseason performances of his career, hitting three home runs while striking out 10 batters. The game attracted 10.26 million viewers in Japan, becoming the country’s second-most-watched League Championship Series game ever. The entire Dodgers-Brewers NLCS averaged 7.34 million viewers in Japan, setting another record.

The 2025 World Series further demonstrated what can happen when star power meets an intriguing storyline. The Dodgers featured international stars including Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, while the Toronto Blue Jays represented an entire Canadian market. The deciding Game 7 ultimately attracted approximately 51 million viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japan, making it the most-watched MLB game globally since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

Fans are not only watching the action taking place on the field. They are watching stories unfold in real time. Historic rivalries, recognizable stars, championship droughts, potential dynasties, breakout performances, and unexpected runs all give viewers a reason to become emotionally invested.

Sometimes the difference between another game and must-watch television is simply having a story worth following.

When Sports Become Tradition

Some sporting events have become so deeply connected to certain days and times of the year that watching them feels like part of the calendar itself.

There may be no better example than the NFL on Thanksgiving.

The NFL’s three Thanksgiving games in 2025 averaged 44.7 million viewers, the largest Thanksgiving Day average on record. The Kansas City Chiefs vs Dallas Cowboys matchup alone averaged 57.2 million viewers, becoming the most-watched NFL regular-season game ever. The early Packers-Lions matchup also attracted 47.7 million viewers.

Those audiences were far greater than the NFL’s already massive 18.7 million regular-season average. The games mattered, and the teams involved certainly helped, but Thanksgiving football has also become a tradition passed between generations.

For millions of families, watching football is simply part of the holiday.

The Sports Calendar

Other sports have been able to create similar places on the American calendar as well. 

March means March Madness. The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament averaged 10.9 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched tournament since 1994. The National Championship between Michigan and UConn drew 18.3 million viewers, the largest audience for the title game since 2019.

October brings postseason baseball, New Year’s brings the college football playoffs, and Christmas has become a major date for both the NBA and NFL. These events benefit from more than the teams and athletes competing in them.

They benefit from familiarity. Fans know when they are coming.

That creates a powerful form of habitual viewership. Instead of discovering a sporting event while flipping through channels or scrolling through a streaming platform, viewers already associate a particular day, holiday, or season with watching it.

When a sporting event becomes part of a tradition, the audience can become much larger than the sport’s everyday fanbase. 

sports viewership trends

The World Cup Effect

If weekly NFL and college football demonstrate the power of scarcity, the FIFA World Cup takes that idea to the extreme.

The tournament only arrives once every four years. For fans watching their country compete, there is no guarantee another opportunity will come soon. A loss in the knockout stage does not mean waiting until next week or next season. It means waiting another four years.

The 2026 World Cup demonstrated just how powerful that combination of scarcity, national pride, and global star power can be.

The tournament became the most-watched FIFA World Cup in U.S. history, averaging approximately 7.74 million viewers across 104 matches on FOX, FS1, and Tubi. That represented a 116% increase compared with the 2022 tournament. The numbers became even more impressive as the stakes increased.

The 2026 World Cup Final averaged 38.94 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. television history. Viewership peaked at approximately 51.7 million as Spain defeated Argentina in extra time. The Final’s average audience was 132% higher than the 2022 World Cup Final and 240% higher than the 2018 Final.

And Americans were not only watching the championship match. Two matches during the tournament surpassed 30 million viewers on FOX, five exceeded 20 million, and 11 eclipsed 15 million.

Nielsen reported that World Cup matches generated more than 84 billion viewing minutes across FOX and NBCUniversal properties during June alone. Combined with the NBA Finals, the tournament helped drive a 118% increase in broadcast sports viewing during the month.

The World Cup creates something most domestic leagues cannot fully replicate. National identity gives casual viewers a reason to care. The knockout format makes every result matter. Global stars attract audiences across borders. Hosting the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico brought the event even closer to American fans.

Someone does not have to watch soccer every weekend to care about a World Cup match. Sometimes, the magnitude of the event itself is enough to make people tune in.

What the Future Holds

There is no single formula that determines how many people will watch a sporting event.

The NFL demonstrates the power of scarcity and routine, while college football demonstrates the strength of rivalries. The NBA, MLB, and NHL show how championship stakes can grow audiences, while events like Thanksgiving football and March Madness, and the World Cup highlight the impact of tradition and cultural significance.

What these trends have in common is the importance of the moment.

Fans have more entertainment options competing for their attention than ever before. Yet millions of Americans are still willing to stop what they are doing and watch the same event at the same time when they believe something important could happen.

That may be the most important trend in sports viewership.

The future is not simply about determining which league or sport can attract the largest audience. It is about understanding what turns an ordinary game into an event, what turns casual observers into invested fans, and ultimately, what makes America tune in.

FAQ:

  1. What is the most watched sport in the United States? Football remains the most frequently watched sport in the United States, with the NFL producing the country’s largest sports audiences year after year.
  2. Why do playoff games attract more viewers than regular season games? Due to the win-or-go-home nature of the playoffs, many post season matchups attract casual viewers who may not regularly follow a team or league, but want to watch when a championship is on the line.
  3. Why are sporting events like the World Cup so widely watched? The main factor for this is scarcity. The World Cup only comes around once every four years. Fans who rarely watch soccer can still become very invested when their country is competing for a world championship. 
  4. What factors have the biggest impact on viewership in sports? There are several factors that can influence viewership. These factors include the importance of the game, recognizable athletes/teams, historic rivalries, compelling or dramatic storylines, scheduling, and tradition. 

How International Players Are Driving Global Growth in Sports Leagues

Posted on by Athelo Group

By David Osuji

Athelo Group

There was a time when growing an American sports league meant filling more seats in more American cities. Build a better product, sell more tickets, negotiate a bigger TV deal and repeat. 

That model still works, but it’s no longer where the biggest growth is coming from.

Today, leagues aren’t just expanding their footprint, they’re expanding their audience. And the most effective way they’ve found to do it isn’t through media deals or marketing campaigns. It’s through players. 

International talent has quietly become one of the most powerful business development tools in sports. They have opened markets, attracted sponsors and pulled in fans far beyond the U.S. The MLB, NBA, and NFL are all figuring this out in real time.

Quick Highlights

  • Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Dodgers is one of the largest in MLB history.
  • The 2025 MLB Tokyo Series became the largest standalone international event in league history, drawing over 250,000 in combined attendance across games and exhibition matchups.
  • The NFL’s Global Markets Program now covers 22 international markets, with all 32 teams holding international rights somewhere in the world.
  • A record 135 international players appeared on NBA opening night rosters for the 2025-26 season, representing 43 countries across 6 continents.
  • The 2025 NFL International Games averaged 6.2 million viewers per game, a 32% increase from the prior year.
international players

The MLB: The Player as a Business Development Asset

When a specific league signs a rising international player, it doesn’t just add to its roster.

It buys itself access to a commercial ecosystem.

This includes sponsorships from regional brands, merchandise demand from overseas fans and broadcast partnerships in countries that had no reason to carry the games before. The player is what creates the market.

The clearest example of this is when Shohei Ohtani landed in Los Angeles. Within a single season, the Dodgers attracted a wave of Japanese corporate sponsorships from brands that had never put money into American sports before. 

Daiso, the Japanese retailer, became one of those new partners, a brand with massive consumer reach in Asia that had no prior presence in MLB before Ohtani arrived. No marketing campaign does that. A player from a specific country or region playing at the highest level does.

The ripple effect spreads beyond one team.

International players have climbed to the top of MLB’s jersey sales rankings, and a lot of that demand is coming from fans overseas who are buying in because of a specific international player.

That’s a meaningful distinction for anyone thinking about how leagues grow. It means tapping into an existing fanbase rather than building one from nothing.

The MLB has also started bringing the game directly to those audiences instead of waiting for them to find it. In recent years, The Seoul Series and the Tokyo Series have set records for viewership, merchandise and sponsorship activation in their respective markets. 

The 2025 Tokyo Series became the largest standalone international event in MLB history. These trips aren’t goodwill gestures or novelty events. They’re the league showing up to do business in markets where it already has a foothold, and leaving with more than it came with.

The NBA: What Happens When the Whole Roster Is Global

The NBA was early to this. 

When a player from a given country makes it to the league and succeeds, fans from that country follow. It doesn’t matter if those fans have never watched a game before. 

International players aren’t just showing up on rosters. They’re winning championships, taking home awards and becoming the faces of franchises. 

Nikola Jokic winning three MVPs pulled Serbian viewers in. Dirk Nowitzki turned Germany into a basketball market for over a decade. Yao Ming opened China to the NBA in a way no business deal could have engineered. When Luka Doncic became the first international player to lead the league in jersey sales in 2025, it signaled something real about where the NBA’s consumer base is shifting.

The NBA now broadcasts to over 200 countries, and the talent responsible for that reach didn’t come from one place or one pipeline. It came from everywhere, and that variety is part of what makes the NBA’s global product hard to replicate.

The league has taken that momentum and leaned into it through its Global Games campaign, putting regular season games in Paris, London, Mexico City, Berlin, Abu Dhabi, and more cities in the years ahead.

The goal is to build the kind of local attachment that holds up after the game ends. Sponsorship deals, merchandise revenue and broadcast rights are all easier to negotiate when a fanbase is already in waiting.

The NFL: A Cultural Export

American football brings a unique perspective compared to the NBA and the MLB. It’s culturally American in a way that doesn’t translate automatically. 

In the U.S., football is more than a sport. It’s Friday night games under the lights and Thanksgiving evening on the couch. It’s the Super Bowl as a national event that stops the country.

That cultural weight is real, but it doesn’t exactly travel overseas.

An international fan sitting down to watch their first NFL game doesn’t necessarily have a frame of reference. A sport cannot simply be introduced to a new market with the expectation that it will immediately resonate, particularly in regions where it lacks cultural familiarity or an established audience.

The NFL knows this, and its approach has been to build international audiences and international talent at the same time.

international sports

Building the Game and the Audience

Within the NFL, the International Player Pathway Program does both. It recruits elite athletes from overseas sports backgrounds, including rugby players, soccer players and track athletes, and develops them for NFL rosters.

The development matters. The story matters just as much. 

When a player from a foreign country makes it through the program and becomes a real contributor, their story becomes the league’s best advertisement in that country. 

Jordan Mailata, an Australian who had never played football before joining the program and went on to win Super Bowl LIX in 2025, is the clearest example of what this looks like when it works. The NFL announced its first ever regular season game in Australia shortly after, scheduled for Melbourne in 2026. That timing wasn’t a coincidence.

The international games have followed a similar trajectory. 

What started as a few games in London has expanded into a multi-continent operation that now takes the league to Europe, Australia and South America, with more markets being added regularly.

Each new city comes with local sponsorship opportunities, new broadcast deals and marketing rights for the franchises involved.

The NFL has distributed those rights across all 32 teams. This means international expansion isn’t just a league office initiative. Every franchise has skin in the game.

Beyond The Box Score

Not long ago, an athlete from Serbia, Japan or Australia becoming the face of an American sports league would have been a pipe dream. 

The leagues paying attention have started treating foreign born talent as a growth strategy, not just a roster decision. They open markets, move merchandise and drive viewership in countries that had no prior attachment to the sport.

This gives leagues a real reason to show up in places they couldn’t have justified entering before.

The sports leagues investing in that now, through overseas talent development, international competition and global broadcast infrastructure, are the ones building something that lasts.

The talent has already crossed the borders. Now, the business is catching up.

FAQ:

  1. What is the International Player Pathway? It’s a system leagues use to identify and develop athletic talent from outside the United States and bring it into American professional sports. The NFL has a formal program for it. The NBA and MLB have built pipelines through scouting, academies, and international partnerships.
  2. Why do leagues care so much about international players right now? Because domestic market growth has a ceiling. Once you’ve saturated your home country, the only way to keep expanding revenue is to find new audiences. International players are the most natural way to do that.
  3. Do international players actually move the needle commercially? More than most front offices probably expected. When the right player lands in the right market, sponsorship deals follow, jersey sales climb, and viewership in their home country can grow overnight.
  4. Why do overseas games matter if most fans are still watching from home? Showing up in a market shows commitment. It tells local fans, sponsors, and broadcasters that the league is serious about being there long term. That makes deals easier to close and fanbases easier to build.
  5. Isn’t American football too complicated to grow internationally? That’s what people assumed for a long time. The NFL’s answer was to put the product in front of people and let players from those countries tell the story. It’s harder to dismiss a sport when someone from your country is winning at it.
  6. Does any of this actually translate to real revenue? The sponsorships, merchandise sales, and broadcast deal growth across all three leagues suggest yes. International expansion is no longer a side project. It’s a core part of how these leagues plan for the future.
  7. Is this a recent shift or has it been building for a while? It’s been building. The NBA started taking it seriously decades ago. MLB and the NFL have accelerated in the last several years.

How has fantasy sports changed the way fans watch games?

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Ella Roether

Athelo Group

There was a time when sports fandom was a monogamous relationship. You picked your favorite team, watched their game, and hoped they would win. A fan’s emotional investment lived, and ultimately died, with one outcome. Today, that experience has completely evolved.

Fantasy sports have transformed fans from passive viewers into active participants. The games we watch are no longer just about the final score. It’s a high-stakes management exercise.

We aren’t just fans anymore. We’re unofficial general managers, and it’s changed the very DNA of how we consume sports.

Quick Highlights

  • Over 60 million people in North America participate in fantasy sports, turning fans into active decision-makers.
  • Fans now follow individual player performance just as closely as team outcomes.
  • In 2025, approximately 29–30 million people played fantasy football in the United States, making it the most popular fantasy sport.
  • The second-screen experience (fantasy apps, social media and live stats) is now an essential part of sports consumption.
fantasy sports

From Team Loyalty to Player Obsession

In the early 1960s Bill Winkenbach, a part-owner of the Oakland Raiders, created the first fantasy football league with a small group of friends. The concept of fantasy sports expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with the rise of rotisserie baseball and later exploded in popularity with the growth of the internet.

For decades, sports fandom was defined by loyalty. Usually, fans from a young age supported their team, watched their games, and largely ignored everything else. 

Fantasy sports disrupted that model completely.

Now, fans track individual athletes across the league. Single games are no longer the focus. Fans follow multiple games at once, invested in players on their roster regardless of team affiliation.

A touchdown from a rival team no longer feels like a loss if it benefits your fantasy lineup. This creates a shift in emotional investment, as fans are no longer tied to one outcome. Fantasy sports have expanded the scope of fandom, turning every game into something relevant.

Goodbye Irrelevant Games

Fantasy sports have eliminated the idea of “irrelevant games.” In a traditional model, fans only watch games that directly impact their favorite team or playoff picture. Fantasy changed this, meaning, a late-season matchup between two non-contending teams could still determine a fantasy playoff outcome.

This has increased overall viewership and engagement across leagues. 

A study done by Penn State showed that over 80% of fantasy sports players report watching more games because of their fantasy teams. Fans are more likely to watch random games, track stats in real time, and stay engaged throughout the entire season – especially if their fantasy team is successful.

The result is simple: fantasy sports have turned casual viewers into consistent consumers.

The Rise of the Second-Screen Fan

In past generations, sports were consumed via radio or TV. Watching sports is no longer a one-screen experience though, as fantasy sports have normalized multi-tasking during games.

Fans are simultaneously:

  • Watching live broadcasts
  • Checking fantasy apps for real-time scoring
  • Monitoring player stats and injury updates
  • Engaging in group chats or social media
  • Managing bets placed on sports gambling sites

This second-screen behavior has become essential to the modern sports experience. 

While the game is still the main focus, it is only one part of the interaction. The data, the competition and the social engagement all happen alongside it. 

On platforms like X and Reddit, fantasy players share their lineup decisions, “start/sit” questions and react live to player performances, especially during NFL Sundays. There are also entire shows, podcasts and TikTok accounts built around fantasy advice, where fans engage through comments, polls and weekly rankings debates.

While some people argue this model is distracting fans from sports, others argue it is only enhancing the experience. 

Studies show that 87% of users research stats and players more, showing deeper engagement with the sport. The other side of this coin shows how fantasy sports shift focus toward individual player stats over team outcomes, changing how fans experience games, and ultimately distracting viewers from the game itself.

Turning Fans Into Decision-Makers

One of the most significant shifts fantasy sports created is control. 

Fans are no longer just watching sports for the outcome, but they are making decisions that impact their own results. Drafting players, setting lineups, making trades, and analyzing matchups all create a sense of ownership.

This shift in control has transformed the fan mindset. They research trends, evaluate performance, and think strategically. Fantasy sports has blurred the line between fan and analyst. This gives fans a window into a world they did have access to previously. 

fantasy sports

Fans Are Adapting To Data-Driven Sports Consumption

While fantasy sports have shifted a lot of aspects of sports consumption, the biggest change is the integration of advanced analytics. 

Stats that were once used only for analysts are now part of everyday conversation. Fans regularly discuss metrics like target share, efficiency ratings and usage rates.

This shift has elevated the overall sports IQ of the average fan. Watching the game is now about what happens and why it happens. Fantasy sports have created a generation of fans who understand the game on a deeper level.

The Social Layer of Sports

The biggest upside in the growing world of fantasy sports is the social aspect. Leagues are built around friends, coworkers, and online communities. Weekly matchups, standings and rivalries create an entirely new layer of competition beyond the actual sport.

Fantasy sports add a strong social layer through traditions like “draft day” events, where leagues gather in person or virtually to select teams, often turning it into a full-day party or competition. Many leagues also incorporate creative punishments for last-place finishers, including tasks like public dares or embarrassing challenges. 

These are meant to build camaraderie and keep participants engaged beyond just watching games. These elements transform fantasy sports from a solo activity into an ongoing, shared social experience.

Even when a fan’s favorite team struggles, fantasy sports are keeping them engaged. The season won’t always end when your team is out of contention. Trash talk, group chats and shared experiences are making sports more interactive and more personal.

fantasy sports fans

The Final Verdict: Has Fantasy Sports Changed the Way We Watch?

Fantasy sports haven’t just influenced how fans watch games, they’ve redefined the entire experience. 

Fans are no longer a passive audience because they are engaged, informed, and personally invested in outcomes across the leagues and games. In a world where every play matters, every stat counts and every game has meaning, the way we consume sports has shifted.

The way we watch sports today is more interactive, more analytical, and more connected than ever before. Fantasy sports have not replaced traditional fandom, they expanded it. And as technology continues to evolve, the gap between watching the game and being part of it will only continue to shrink.

FAQ:

  1. How have fantasy sports changed fan behavior? Fantasy sports have shifted fans from team-focused viewing to player-focused engagement, increasing overall interest in multiple games at once.
  2. Do fantasy sports increase viewership? Yes. Fans who participate in fantasy leagues tend to watch more games and spend more time following sports overall.
  3. Are fantasy sports considered part of sports betting? Traditional fantasy sports are typically skill-based, but daily fantasy and betting-related formats have created overlap in recent years.
  4. Do fantasy sports make fans more knowledgeable? Yes. Fantasy players regularly analyze stats, trends, and performance data, leading to a deeper understanding of the game.
  5. Why are fantasy sports so popular? They combine competition, strategy, and social interaction, making sports more engaging and personalized.
  6. Do fantasy sports change team loyalty? They don’t eliminate loyalty, but they expand it. Fans still support their teams while also following individual players across the league.
  7. How do fantasy sports impact sports businesses? They increase engagement, boost viewership, and create new opportunities for digital platforms, sponsors, and media companies.
  8. Will fantasy sports continue to grow? Yes. With advancements in technology, data analytics, and interactive platforms, fantasy sports will continue to shape the future of fan engagement.

The Power of an Underdog Story 

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Isabel SImon

Athelo Group

Teams play 17 games in the NFL, 162 in MLB, and 82 games in both the NBA and NHL each season. 

Over time, that adds up to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of games a fan cheers for in their lifetime. Yet most fans don’t remember every score, stat line, or regular season outcome. 

What they do remember are the moments that stand out. The ones that feel bigger than the game itself. More often than not, those moments are underdog stories. 

These are the games, plays, and performances that stick with fans.The ones where something unexpected happens. Underdog moments aren’t just a step forward in a season, but the ones that reach our hearts. They are continuously replayed and relived because they capture something deeper than competition. They capture a sense of emotion and belief, and the idea that anything is possible.

Quick Highlights

  • The year 1980 was the year of the Miracle on Ice, still considered one of the greatest underdog victories decades later.
  • Studies show that 88% of people naturally root for the underdog, even when the odds, statistics, and expert predictions are stacked against them.
  • Research shows that roughly 75% of elite athletes actually prefer being the underdog over entering competition as the favorite.
  • Misty Copeland’s campaign with Under Armour turned her underdog story into a powerful marketing moment, creating a viral moment showcasing the impact of authentic storytelling.

Lasting Memories and Historical Moments 

Not only do some of the most unforgettable moments for sports fans come from underdog victories, but they also have a lasting impact on entire generations. 

A perfect example is the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Winter Olympics, when a young U.S. hockey team defeated the highly favored Soviet Union. Decades later, that moment is still celebrated as one of the greatest upsets of all time.

The Minneapolis Miracle is also a well known moment, when the Minnesota Vikings stunned the New Orleans Saints with a last-second touchdown. The 29-24 final score was more than just a victory, it was disbelief, chaos, and emotion all at once. Fans remember exactly where they were when it happened and the exact shock they felt. 

These games become more than just a memory. They become monumental moments in sports history that are passed on for decades. They define historical victories that aren’t just listed in a history book.

The Psychology Behind The Emotion and Drama

There’s a deeper psychological reason why underdog stories resonate so strongly. 

Humans are naturally drawn to problems and resolution. When the odds are stacked against someone, it creates anticipation. The greater the challenge, the greater the emotional payoff. Studies show that 88% of people naturally root for the underdog, even when the odds, statistics, and expert predictions are stacked against them.

The more people see themselves in a story and feel its significance, the more they naturally root for it. Research also shows that brands positioned as underdogs can boost purchase motivation and strengthen brand loyalty. 

Even more compelling, this effect is strongest among consumers who view themselves as underdogs. Research shows that roughly 75% of elite athletes actually prefer being the underdog over entering competition as the favorite. A routine win by a favorite might impress, but an underdog victory brings excitement and inspiration all at once.

underdog story

Why We See Ourselves in Underdogs

The power of relatability is often overlooked by the natural instinct to always desire something more.

Underdog moments allow people to feel emotionally connected to something they aren’t directly related to. It is easier to connect to hard work and adversity, which makes these moments easier to relate to. 

Underdog stories aren’t defined by a term, they are defined by stories of athletes, teams, or coaches that overcome challenges just like everyone else. These setbacks mirror obstacles in everyday life. 

The Marketing Advantage

While star athletes in major leagues often dominate the marketing world, athletes in smaller or niche sports are often considered underdogs in the influencer and creator space.

They may not have the same level of exposure or media coverage, but that’s exactly what makes them compelling. This is at the very heart of Athelo Group’s mission. We recognize this untapped potential and invest in elevating these athletes, bringing forward stories that might otherwise go unheard.

A powerful example of this is Misty Copeland and her partnership with Under Armour. Copeland’s journey of overcoming poverty and dedication to become a leading figure in a predominantly white ballet world connected far beyond dance. Her story carried significance far beyond becoming the first Black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Her success helped open doors for diverse representation in ballet and inspired a new generation of dancers who had previously been told they don’t belong on stage. 

Under Armour leaned into that narrative, featuring Copeland in a campaign that highlighted her journey rather than just a product. The result was a viral moment that connected with audiences on an emotional and personal level, showing the power storytelling has on consumers.

Why These Moments Will Always Have Our Heart

In an era of statistics, dynasty teams, and billion-dollar sports industries, underdog stories remain one of the few elements that can’t be predicted or controlled.

They remind us that athletes are still human. That effort, belief and resilience can still overcome the odds. No matter how much the game evolves, there will always be room for the unexpected. As time continues there is always the team that doesn’t stop and the athlete who proves everyone wrong. Every season there is a moment that no one saw coming. 

That’s why underdog stories continue to connect with fans and last as something more than a result. They give us something to believe in. It’s these kinds of stories that continue to shape how athletes’ are shared with the world, and how Athelo Group will continue to unlock niche markets.

FAQ:

  1. What is an Underdog? A person, team, or entity expected to lose a competition, contest, or struggle, often characterized by a disadvantage, lack of power, or consistent failure.
  2. What is the Minneapolis Miracle? The Minneapolis Miracle refers to one of the most dramatic finishes in NFL history. In the 2018 NFC Divisional Playoff game, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints on a last-second 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs as time expired. This was the first time in NFL playoff history that a game ended with a touchdown on the final play.
  3. When is the best time to bet on an underdog? Many bettors target underdogs when the public is heavily backing the favorite, which can boost the odds and create stronger value on the underdog side. Other situations to consider include matchups where the underdog has a strong defense or when they’re facing a high-scoring favorite, where game dynamics can be less predictable.
  4. Why does underdog marketing work? Underdog marketing resonates because consumers naturally connect with stories of struggle and perseverance. It positions a brand as relatable rather than over using over saturated targets. Authentic narratives of overcoming the odds tend to be far more engaging and memorable than traditional brand messaging.
  5. Will underdog stories always matter in sports? Essentially, Yes. No matter how much sports evolve with technology, media, and advancements, underdog stories remain timeless. They represent unpredictability and human effort.

Athlete-Owned Media Is Changing Sports Coverage

Posted on by Athelo Group

By David Osuji

Athelo Group

There was a time when hearing directly from an athlete meant catching a postgame interview or waiting for a segment to air on ESPN. Reporters controlled the questions. Producers decided what made it to broadcast. The athlete was the subject of the story and rarely the one telling it.

Now, that dynamic has quietly flipped.

Over the past several years, athletes have moved into podcasting, YouTube, and full scale media ventures with a confidence that’s caught a lot of people off guard. This isn’t just moonlighting between seasons. Some of these platforms are drawing audiences that rival traditional sports networks like ESPN, CBS, and NBC.

The athletes utilizing owned-media seem to understand something those sports outlets are still catching up to.

Quick Highlights

  • Athlete-owned podcasts have generated more than 7 billion YouTube views, 725 million TikTok likes, and 37 million Instagram followers combined.
  • A 2025 USC Annenberg study found 33 athlete-owned production companies producing over 370 media properties worldwide.
  • The global podcast industry was a heavy hitter in the entertainment industry, and was valued at nearly $40 billion by the end of 2025.
  • Brands and sponsors are increasingly choosing athlete podcasts shows as advertising platforms due to the strong engagement from fans.
athlete-owned media

Traditional Sports Coverage

Within sports media, athlete frustration has been building for years over misquotes and selective editing stripped of context. A two hour conversation gets reduced to a single pulled quote. A nuanced opinion becomes a headline designed to generate outrage. 

We live in a world where a clipped video or a screenshot taken out of context can reach millions of people before anyone bothers to fact check. Social media moves fast, and corrections almost never travel as far as the original story. For athletes who are already among the most visible and most misrepresented public figures in the country, this has created a major issue. 

Traditional media was never set up to give athletes control over their own narratives. They have had to live with whatever version of themselves ended up in print or on television.

Marshawn Lynch is an infamous form of what that frustration can look like. He was fined over a million dollars across his career for refusing to comply with NFL media obligations. The coverage painted him as difficult and uncooperative, and that’s largely where the story stopped. 

What rarely made it into the narrative was why he felt the way he did. He grew up in an environment that made being forced to perform for the press feel immoral. That context existed, it just had nowhere to go. Years after retiring, he laid it all out on various podcasts, in his own words, without anyone shaping it into something else. 

Without that personal perspective, the public version of Marshawn Lynch was just a guy who wouldn’t speak to reporters. This didn’t come close to capturing it.

Athletes Taking Control

Podcasts have changed that dynamic across the board. 

When an athlete is talking directly into a microphone for an hour, there is no editor cutting for time, no reporter filtering the message, no network sweating over advertising. The audience hears what was said, in full, in the actual context it was meant in.

That kind of direct access simply did not exist at scale before this format came along.

LeBron James recognized this early. Uninterrupted, the platform he helped build, was designed around a straightforward idea: let athletes talk without someone else shaping the message. No click bait reactions and no manufactured drama – just perspective.

The Kelce brothers landed on something similar, though it came together differently. New Heights isn’t built in the way a network show is. It wanders and it gets personal.

That looseness is the whole point. It gives fans something a standard broadcast would never make room for. It shows who they truly are.

@newheightshow

Everyone loves Uncle Travvy and Randy Moss NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!!! Link in bio

♬ original sound – New Heights

Building While Still Playing and After Retirement

What’s changed most noticeably is the timing. Athletes used to wait until after retirement to transition into media. That’s no longer how it works.

Draymond Green launched his show while still active in the NBA, which created something genuinely unique. The audience was shown analysis from someone who had just been in the locker room the night before. The gap between player and commentator shrank in a way that felt hard to fake.

Pat McAfee is maybe the clearest example of what the high stage looks like. He built a digital show from scratch after his playing career ended and grew it into something ESPN eventually paid serious money to partner with. He also did so by refusing to sound like traditional sports radio. The fact that he was a retired NFL player helped – but it wasn’t the whole story. Plenty of former players have tried this. Most have not built what he has built.

For athletes watching all of this, the business logic is hard to ignore. Media presence drives sponsorship value. It builds an identity that outlasts any contract. In a profession where a single injury can end everything, that kind of security is surely worth chasing.

Why Personality Is Beating Production Value

The audience perspective of this is also worth paying attention to. Sport fans haven’t just accepted athlete led media. In a lot of cases, they actually prefer it.

Paul George’s podcast doesn’t try to be a debate show. JJ Redick built The Old Man and the Three around long conversations that assumed the listener actually cared about basketball, not just highlights. That show, more than anything else, explains why the Lakers looked at him differently when a coaching job opened up. He’d spent years demonstrating how he thought about the game.

There’s a version of sports media that’s still chasing outrage because outrage drives clicks. That model hasn’t disappeared, but it’s competing now with something that feels more like a real conversation. A growing share of the audience seems to prefer the latter.

@bustedopenonsiriusxm

☝️🏿The World’s Strongest Man Acknowledges @officialjellyroll! MarkHenry reacts to Smackdown, SNME & Cena-Cody SummerSlam Contract Signing on the bustedopen247 podcast 📅Catch BOAD Weeknights After Wrestling on ProWrestlingNation247 Ch. 156

♬ original sound – BustedOpenonSiriusXM – BustedOpenonSiriusXM

Where It Goes From Here

The athletes coming up now have never known a sports landscape without this. For them, social media, content creation, and personal branding are not second careers to think about someday. They are already baked into how these athletes move through the world and how they build a following long before they reach the professional level.

The broader implications of this go well beyond podcasts. When athletes own their platforms, they also own their revenue streams. Sponsorship conversations shift. Brands no longer need to go through a network or a league to reach an audience; they can go directly to the athlete, whose audience is often more loyal and more targeted than traditional networks. That changes the financial scope of being a professional athlete in ways that are still playing out.

It also changes culture. Athletes have always shaped what people wear, listen to, and care about. That influence used to be filtered through endorsements and highlight reels. Now, it comes through in real conversation and the actual texture of who these people are. That kind of access builds something different than a commercial does. It builds genuine connection, and genuine connection turns casual fans into communities.

Athelo’s own Mark Henry is a good example of what this looks like. The Busted Open podcast, which Henry co-hosts, has become one of the most respected in professional wrestling media. He spent decades inside the industry as a competitor, and that background gives the show insider perspective delivered without a filter. Fans are not getting a produced segment. They are getting a real conversation with someone who actually lived it. 

For Athelo Group, Henry represents exactly the kind of athlete-owned media that is reshaping how sports figures connect with their audiences long after their playing days are behind them.

The microphone used to sit in front of the athlete. Now they are the ones holding it, and they are not planning to hand it back.

FAQ:

  1. What is athlete owned media? It’s exactly what it sounds like. It consists of athletes running their own podcasts, social media, and/or production companies instead of waiting for a network to give them a segment. They own it, they run it, and they decide what gets said.
  2. Why are so many athletes doing this now? Telling your own story is important. Once athletes realized they could just talk directly to fans without a middleman, a lot of them didn’t look back. The financial gain is also a focus for many players.
  3. Are people actually watching and listening? More than most people realize. Athlete owned podcasts have combined for billions of views and likes across social media platforms. Some of these shows are pulling numbers that even rival traditional sports media.
  4. Are athletes really doing this while still in their prime? Draymond Green was still suiting up for the Warriors when he launched his show and Travis Kelce was still competing for Super Bowl runs. That’s actually what made it interesting. You’re getting takes from someone who has a first person perspective of the game.
  5. Does any of this actually pay off financially? Media presence drives sponsorship deals, attracts brands, and builds income that doesn’t disappear the moment a career ends. For athletes in sports where one bad injury changes everything, that kind of option matters a lot.
  6. Can a podcast really change how people see an athlete? Ask JJ Redick. He spent years having genuine basketball conversations on his show, and by the time the Lakers needed a coach, he had already proven how he thought about the game.
  7. Why do fans seem to prefer this over traditional coverage? Because it feels real. There’s no producer cutting to commercials at the good part. No anchor steering the conversation somewhere safe. It’s just people talking, and fans have noticed the difference.
  8. Is this just a trend or is it here to stay? It looks permanent. The podcast industry has boomed within the entertainment realm and sports topics are among the top genres.

America’s Favorite Sport: The Rise and Reign of Football

Posted on by Athelo Group

By Kamyjah Blackwell

Athelo Group

41% of adults consider football to be their favorite sport to watch. This statistic reflects how the game has grown into more than just a pastime. Football has become a weekly routine and a national obsession woven into everyday American life.

American Football has remained the country’s most popular sport for more than 50 years.  It has evolved beyond the action on the field to keep fans engaged year-round, even long after the season ends.

Fantasy football, sports betting, and nonstop social media coverage ensure constant interaction. The Super Bowl’s blend of competition and entertainment transforms the sport into a national phenomenon that dominates conversation and culture across the country.

Quick Highlights

  • The 2025 NFL season is projected to generate $30 billion in sports betting wagers.
  • 41% of adults list American football as their favorite sport to watch, reinforcing its dominance in U.S. sports culture.
  • The 60th Super Bowl will feature Bad Bunny as its headliner – showing the event’s blend of sports and entertainment.
  • In 2024, 25% of viewers tuned in solely for the halftime show, while 21% watched just for the commercials.
America's favorite sport

Fantasy Football Changed How Fans Watch the NFL

Football fans have never cared more about the outcomes of teams they do not root for, or even about how well the running back on their most rivaled team is performing. The era of solely tracking your favorite football team is over.

With fantasy sports participation at an all-time high, fans are now closely tracking the statistics of individual players across the league. This shift means fans have a personal stake in nearly every game. This leads to tuning into matchups they would normally ignore. It represents a major cultural change driven by emotional investment and high-stakes moments tied to fantasy team performance.

Fantasy football has also created a new audience: the temporary fan. These are participants who engage primarily because of the community built within workplaces, friendships, and families.

These temporary fans, who did not previously exist, are now locked into a sport they otherwise would not have invested their time in. The culture fantasy football has cultivated has drawn both fans and non-fans into caring about game outcomes and player performance.

Sports Betting Increased Fan Engagement and Makes Each Game More Exciting

As sports betting has become widely accepted as a societal pastime, it has fundamentally changed how fans watch games. It has turned every play into something personal, emotional, and high-stake.

In the United States, football attracts the most bettors and the highest volume of frequent betting activity. Wagers are predicted to reach $30 billion this season. Sports betting also appeals to those who may not enjoy the sport itself as much as they enjoy betting. This adds a layer of excitement that extends beyond team loyalty.

Once financially invested, bettors become focused on whether their parlays will hit. This makes games that might otherwise seem boring feel far more intense.

Social media has also shortened attention spans, a challenge sports like football continue to face. Player props and spreads help keep fans engaged throughout the entire game. Fans and general bettors actively tune in to monitor their bets and outcomes.

This heightened engagement pushes viewers to stay informed on more than just their favorite teams. Instead, fans follow football news as a whole to better understand and support their betting decisions. 

sports betting

Why Football Wins the Week, Not Just Sunday

Social media usage is more prominent than ever, driven by content formats that cater to every generation. As social media has become a key measure of influence and popularity, American football has consistently thrived in this space.

In a digital era built around concise content, social platforms have become essential for maintaining interest in sports – even during the offseason. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and similar platforms have made sports media more accessible. This allows fans to engage with trending content throughout the week.

As content spreads across platforms, conversation extends far beyond a single moment. Within minutes, big plays, highlights, and memes appear before, during, and after games. This keeps teams, players, and major moments constantly visible and top of mind from Monday to Sunday.

Even in the offseason, football teams continue to push content, ensuring there is always something to react to. With content moving quickly and football generating it endlessly, the sport remains relevant every day – not just during the season and not just on game day.

Super Bowl: Where Sports Meets Entertainment

The Super Bowl remains one of the most anticipated mega-events year after year. Culturally, it never loses momentum. Even when the same team appears three years in a row, the stadium sells out and viewership stays massive. This is fueled by the event’s intersection with entertainment.

More than the teams themselves and often unknown until weeks before, the most anticipated question is always who will perform. Each year, speculation builds for months, culminating in a polarizing announcement. This season, Bad Bunny’s selection sparked both excitement and backlash. 

This prompted the NFL Commissioner to publicly defend the decision: “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world… That’s what we try to achieve… It’s carefully thought through. I don’t think we’ve ever selected an artist without some blowback or criticism.”

The Super Bowl is a spectacle by design, and the NFL leverages it to draw as many eyes as possible – and it works. The halftime show alone brings in roughly 25% of total viewership, attracting audiences who don’t typically follow the NFL. Every year, social media fills with posts from viewers who tune in solely for those 20 minutes.

By positioning the Super Bowl as both a sport and cultural event, the NFL consistently captures a multifaceted audience. This includes people who may not be year-round football fans, but who are deeply invested in the Super Bowl itself.

America's favorite sport

Football Owns the Calendar and the Culture

American football has remained the most popular sport in the United States for 54 years. This is largely because of its ability to adapt alongside shifting cultural preferences. As fan habits change, football continues to evolve with them.

Fantasy football has deepened that engagement by expanding participation beyond traditional fans to include friends and family. This shift has made viewers more invested in the league as a whole – not just individual teams. This drives higher viewership and stronger emotional attachment.

Football’s dominance has also translated into becoming the most bet-on sport following legalization. Bettors now watch more games to inform their decisions. This increases engagement, viewership, and excitement across every matchup.

Social media and marquee events like the Super Bowl keep football culturally relevant year-round. From short-form content to commercials and halftime performances, football consistently stays in the national conversation. This reinforces its position at the center of both the sports calendar and American culture.

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