The NFL has been around since 1920, and although it was originally only popular in America, recent years have seen its popularity spread across the world.
Also referred to as The National Football League, this is one of the largest sporting leagues across the globe, and that title isn’t falling away anytime soon.
There are 32 teams signed to the NFL, who are all valued at over 142 billion dollars — which puts the NFL at the forefront of any sporting league financially.
It’s significantly ahead of the CFL, and the Super Bowl’s success this year has only added to that.
This growth in financial status is down to the glitz and glam decorum that it oozes when it comes to events, TV commercials, and television deals, which exceed 126 billion in sales on their own.
The league is used to having 115 million viewers across the world tuning into the biggest event of the year. But that number is nothing compared to 2024, seeing as this February’s event amassed over 120 million viewers globally.
However, it’s not through the gate yet, because the Canadian Football League doesn’t even kick off until June 2024, and although it isn’t as big as the NFL by any stretch of the imagination, it’s still going to attract some huge attention and a lot of interest from fans, both in Canada and further afield.
People everywhere will be checking out the latest CFL odds, which are extremely exciting and already garnering plenty of attention from fans and gamblers alike.
Fans are eager to bet on their favorite teams and their favorite players, itching to see what the outcomes will be… but in the meantime, let’s turn our attention back to the NFL and its recent colorful success at the Super Bowl 2024.
The NFL Super Bowl for 2024 revealed that they had taken over 14 million bets during the final games, with a total payout of over 307 million dollars. Now that is a big payday for everyone — but how did they do it?
The league is colossal, that’s a no-brainer, but it’s the TV commercials, the lead-up, and the half-time show that get everyone on their feet.
This year, a TV commercial for just thirty seconds was racking up a cost of 7 million for the punters who were willing to advertise during the Super Bowl.
Talk about a money-making machine – and we’re sure the CFL will be similarly looking to cash in with their own adverts.
The CFL has already had huge success with performers like The Lumineers, Tyler Hubbard, and Green Day, and fans are itching to see who’ll take center stage at the Grey Cup’s halftime show this year.
In the meantime, let’s check out what the NFL offered, so we can see what they’ve got to beat…
The Halftime Show
This year, we saw the Super Bowl halftime show by R&B superstar Usher, but it wasn’t just any regular concert: it was an Usher extravaganza.
Declared as an electrifying event by viewers everywhere, the reason it made the Super Bowl talked about more than ever before is the Bieber fever.
For the weeks leading up to this tremendous event, all eyes were on the world-renowned Justin Bieber, who was in talks with Usher to be making a comeback to the stage. Non-NFL fans flocked to their screens, making it part of the reason the viewership was so high.
Sadly for some, Justin was actually just sitting in the stalls with his wife, Hailey, and not on stage with Usher.
Either way, the show was truly electrifying and brought in viewers from all age groups and countries. All eyes are on the potential headline for Bieber next year, so who knows — 2025 could be bigger than ever before.
Taylor Swift
Yes, that’s right, another huge part of why this Super Bowl was THE biggest one yet was the “Swift effect.” Though it caused many disgruntled sports fans, seeing the pop singer getting all the attention, Taylor Swift managed to bring in a whole new crowd, many from the younger generations.
Supporting her partner, Travis Kelce, for the Chiefs (winners!), she was seen on the big screen more than some people would care to admit, and she even made it into a drinking game for herself.
Every time the camera turned over to her, she would be seen downing her beverage with friends… And trust us, it happened a lot during the whole process.
In a Chiefs’ game in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, her presence at the game led to a 400% increase in Travis Kelce jersey sales, a huge increase in social following, and a number-one ranking for the Chiefs socials — all due to Taylor Swift.
Female viewers ages 18-49, who had never been NFL fans before, were pulling out all the stops to tune in for 2024, and this newfound fan base is going nowhere. There was a lot of speculation about who the winners would be and Swift’s presence added to the hype.
Because of this monumental growth in viewership, Swift managed to bring in a nine percent rise in female viewers, making the numbers soar to 47.5% of the game viewers being female.
While many were there to see the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime at the Super Bowl, it is clear that a new crowd is here to stay, and it made the Super Bowl the biggest event of its generation.
Here’s to 2025, and if this beaming couple is still together, we can only imagine how big the NFL is going to grow, and what the CFL might do in order to compete with them for viewers, bettors, and prestige as the competition heats up and the struggle for supremacy increases.