I have to admit this came as a little bit of a surprise to me. I mean around here the Panthers are the home team so it makes sense there are more fans of them than other teams. But you never fail to see a significant portion of fans in the visiting team’s colors on game day. Which, in a city full of transplants does make sense. But I guess I just wouldn’t have imagined a team that has struggled in recent years and is still one of the newest in the league, would rank so high. But despite my surprise, the Carolina Panthers ranked as the 12th most popular NFL team in a recent study by Betway.
I’m also not remotely shocked at the number one and two teams on this list. It plays right into the “bandwagon teams” as I often refer to them. Hate me all you want for that statement, but in most cases it is true. And if you’re actually from one of those places then no judgment from me. Not only with how high the Panthers ranked (beating 19 teams) but some of who we beat is interesting. We ranked as more popular than both teams that played in the Super Bowl last year. And not just one or two spots higher.
So how did these rankings come about? Teams are ranked by how many combined followers they have across social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Also listed in the % likeability. According to Betway: to determine the teams based on who’s most positively talked about online we used the Linkfluence social listening tool that crawls data on mentions across the internet from the past 12 months.
Want to read the full study including teams across other professional sports leagues? Go here. Continue reading for the complete rankings of the most popular NFL teams from least to most.
32. Minnesota Vikings
% likeability: 6.8
Total following: 2,371,136
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
% likeability: 7.16
Total following: 2,371,136
30. Tennessee Titans
% likeability: 9.37
Total following: 3,521,400
29. Arizona Cardinals
% likeability: 6.76
Total following: 4,178,478
28. Los Angeles Chargers
% likeability: 9.41
Total following: 4,185,890
27. Washington Commanders
% likeability: 7.85
Total following: 4,194,035
26. Buffalo Bills
% likeability: 8.92
Total following: 4,194,035
25. New York Jets
% likeability: 16.10
Total following: 4,287,425
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
% likeability: 10.70
Total following: 4,666,730
23. Cincinnati Bengals
% likeability: 12.80
Total following: 4,678,884
22. Los Angeles Rams
% likeability: 9.42
Total following: 4,821,000
21. Indianapolis Colts
% likeability: 9.99
Total following: 4,889,445
20. Cleveland Browns
% likeability: 10.30
Total following: 4,955,146
19. Miami Dolphins
% likeability: 13.90
Total following: 5,311,064
18. Detroit Lions
% likeability: 10.70
Total following: 5,440,136
17. Houston Texans
% likeability: 11.10
Total following: 5,440,136
16. Atlanta Falcons
% likeability: 10.50
Total following: 6,402,550
15. Baltimore Ravens
% likeability: 18.20
Total following: 6,652,833
14. Las Vegas Raiders
% likeability: 13.30
Total following: 7,216,811
13. Chicago Bears
% likeability: 13.30
Total following: 7,216,811
12. Carolina Panthers
% likeability: 6.63
Total following: 7,868,928
11. New Orleans Saints
% likeability: 16.20
Total following: 8,061,400
10. Kansas City Chiefs
% likeability: 12.10
Total following: 8,245,252
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
% likeability: 11.30
Total following: 8,375,042
8. Denver Broncos
% likeability: 13.40
Total following: 8,467,020
7. New York Giants
% likeability: 16.10
Total following: 8,627,742
6. San Francisco 49ers
% likeability: 13.80
Total following: 9,411,393
5. Seattle Seahawks
% likeability: 11.70
Total following: 9,901,326
4. Philadelphia Eagles
% likeability: 13.90
Total following: 10,251,535
3. Green Bay Packers
% likeability: 16.40
Total following: 10,567,548
2. New England Patriots
% likeability: 16.30
Total following: 16,858,395
1. Dallas Cowboys
% likeability: 11.70
Total following: 17,918,484
