The NFL has millions of supporters across America, with fanbases growing each year. But which franchises have the most devoted followers?

Surveying 1,250 NFL fans of varying ages, genders, and affinities, we’ve been able to reveal which NFL teams have the most devoted supporters, and the players that attract the most committed support. Read on to see where your favorites rank, and which team has the most loyal NFL fans.

How do NFL fans typically show their support?

Before we delve into which team has the most devoted fans, how exactly does the typical NFL fan show their support?

Analyzing our findings, the most popular way for fans to demonstrate their support is buying and wearing team apparel, from replica jerseys to t-shirts and baseball caps. This is something that two thirds of NFL fans do (68.1%).

The next most common method of support is keeping up with the latest team news (61.4%), whether that be across NFL outlets, team websites, or social media. Meanwhile, 42.1% of fans attend games and 24.9% celebrate the social aspect and participate in tailgating. However, just 14.2% are willing to travel to watch their team.

Interestingly, it’s 21-24-year-olds who are most likely to attend games (53.8%) – they’re actually the only age group with more than half of fans regularly in the stadium - though 25-34-year-olds are the top tailgaters (29.9%). Curiously, female football fans (71.1%) are also more likely to wear team apparel than men (66.2%). 

Which NFL fans are least likely to cheer for another team?

When it comes to the most devoted NFL fans, our survey recorded some interesting results. Incredibly, fewer than 5% of respondents believe that Indianapolis Colts fans would ever support a rival (4.4%), followed by the Minnesota Vikings (4.6%), New Orleans Saints (4.8%), and Seattle Seahawks (4.9%).

Closely behind, just 1 in 20 fans think Tennessee Titans fans are capable of cheering on another team, followed by the Denver Broncos (6.4%), Miami Dolphins (7.2%), and San Francisco 49ers (7.8%).

Rounding out the ten most devoted NFL fanbases, we have supporters of the two most recent Super Bowl runners up: the Cincinnati Bengals (8.1%) and Philadelphia Eagles (8.3%).

Meanwhile, talking of the Championship, just 8.4% of NFL fans question the loyalty of Chiefs supporters, following their recent Super Bowl victory – though, 63% in their home state think they’d quickly change allegiance!

Which NFL teams are most likely to attract rival fans?

We also asked NFL fans to identify the teams most likely to attract rival fans during the upcoming season, with the Dallas Cowboys topping the chart. This comes as almost a third of respondents (29.7%) believe the Cowboys are certain to acquire new supporters – suggesting their popularity across the country - followed by recent Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs (22.8%).

Next up, over 20% of NFL supporters believe the New England Patriots will expand their fanbase this season, ahead of the Green Bay Packers (17%) and Buffalo Bills (16%). Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, just 2.9% of fans are convinced the Tennessee Titans can entice rival supporters.

The biggest giveaways of a fair-weather fan

When it comes to identifying NFL fans with wavering devotion, the main giveaway is, unsurprisingly, supporters jumping on the success train and cheering on the trendy team (68.4%), closely followed by fans only showing their support when their team is winning (60.7%).

Meanwhile, a quarter of supporters (23%) just don’t have the emotional investment required to follow their team through a difficult period, and 17.8% only support a franchise based on how fashionable they consider their colors and logo to be.

Interestingly, around a quarter of NFL fans are influenced by friends and family, and 23.8% choose their team based on how popular a city is. Finally, a third of supporters (31.4%) follow a player rather than a team and would switch allegiance if their favorite athlete moved to another franchise.

Incredibly, overall, our research reveals that a whopping 69.4% of football fans admit to having previously switched loyalties. Though, when the likes of LeBron James can’t even pick an NFL team, what hope do the rest of us have?

The NFL players with the most devoted fans

With a third of respondents convinced that supporters are drawn to players rather than a specific team, let’s look at which athletes have the most loyal NFL fans.

Taking top spot, we have two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, whose Kansas City Chiefs team has featured in three of the last four Championship games, winning two. Widely considered to be among the greatest quarterbacks of all time, 61% of fans believe him to have the most devoted fans.

Next up, Aaron Rodgers comes away with 40% of the vote. The veteran QB has recently been involved in a blockbuster trade deal to the New York Jets after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, so we can expect an influx of fans wearing green and white this year.

Meanwhile, trailing slightly, we have Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (28.1%), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17.8%), and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (17.7%).

For even more interesting insight from our experts, including the most superstitious football fans and the most intimidating fanbases, head on over to our NFL blog, or discover all the latest NFL betting odds and picks.

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