Why the NFL is a Bigger Brand Opportunity Than Ever

As Super Bowl LIX approaches, brands are reminded of the enormity of the opportunity that the marquee National Football League game presents, and the global audience it commands. 

But there’s a curious twist. The league’s current success defies an old rule in economics, which is that the more there is of something, the less it is worth. This doesn’t apply, it would appear, to the NFL. 

Despite gradually adding more and more games to the television market throughout the week, the league absolutely dominated viewership in 2024. 

Until 2006, televised NFL was mostly limited to Sunday afternoons and Monday nights. And in both cases, those games generally attracted far higher viewership than rival programming. 

For most media properties with a successful track record like this, the safe route would be to not break what didn’t need fixing. But that year the NFL added a Thursday night game to the mix, which didn’t dilute its popularity at all. 

In 2023, it added a Black Friday game, and this past year it added Christmas Day, the latter of which has traditionally been reserved for National Basketball Association games. 

What’s remarkable is that, despite the risk of “watering down” the NFL product, audiences keep tuning in. Despite a slight dip in total viewership, last year the NFL still had 72 of the top 100 televised or streamed events. For the moment at least, the appetite for content among NFL fans is effectively insatiable.  

The important takeaway for brands is that the NFL opportunity is not a one-time event. We all know that the Super Bowl is watched as much for the ads as for the game itself – which is why brands pay millions of dollars to access it every year.  

But don’t overlook the opportunities over the rest of the football season. The audience will be no less present and attentive, and you have an 18 week-long opportunity to reach people three nights a week, and sometimes as many as five.  

Even as the 2024 NFL season ends this Sunday, it’s not too early to start planning for 2025. Whether you’re already an official NFL partner or would just like to operate in this space, we at MikeWorldWide have the expertise to help you make the most of that opportunity.

Contact us to learn how: