Attendance vs. Audience: How the NFL Has Shifted Its Focus in Super Bowl Coverage

The Super Bowl is one of the most celebrated sporting events in America every year,

making it the second-highest day of food consumption in the United States behind only

Thanksgiving. One trend that I noticed is Super Bowl LX, which took place between the

Seahawks and Patriots at Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium, was estimated to have one of the

smallest crowds in the event’s 59 year history. According to Ben Fischer, an NFL writer for the

Sports Business Journal, an NFL spokeswoman estimated an attendance of about 64,000-67,000

fans for the game. Compared to Super Bowl 50 a decade ago, hosted at the same stadium, there

were around 71,000 fans, with Levi averaging 71,177 for their home games for the 2025 season.

Even if attendance was a bit higher for Sunday’s game, reaching around 67,000 it ranks as the

the sixth-smallest non-pandemic crowd, with four of the six smallest Super Bowls occurring in the 2020s. It reflects a stark decline in super bowl attendance.

One factor that Ben states is most stadiums are smaller than they used to be. Examples

include no longer putting in 100,000+ people in the Rose Bowl or 84,000 in the old Stanford

Stadium, as a lot of professional stadiums have a max capacity of under 70,000.

Considering all the key changes in sports media throughout the last 10-15 years, such as

the rise of social media platforms, influencers, and creators that have all contributed to the event

getting bigger by all metrics it seems quite bizarre this is happening. It would seem logical that

the NFL focuses on trying to maximize ticket sales for a game with such high demand. However,

these changes point to a new trend of leagues prioritizing using media and other online resources

to draw demographics into the sport over physical attendance. To a high extent it makes sense, if

you can attract audiences into the sport and then have them purchase multiple subscriptions to

enjoy the game and/or share their opinions about it, that’s more valuable than a physical ticket.

We’ve seen this with how the NFL pushes more games every year to be played internationally or

exclusively streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. There are always millions of sports fans

around the world who will rarely if ever go to an in person game that represents an audience all

big brands should strive to target. This is also reflected with the amount of media members at the

game this year, 6,500, which is over 800 more than 10 years ago. It’s clear the league no longer

sees crowds as a top priority and this trend is a textbook example of taking advantage of digital

marketing channels.

Additionally, affordability is another big issue, with the cheapest price for a ticket ranging

between $4,000-$6,000 dollars. It’s just not worth paying a fortune for limited views and

overpriced food in the eyes of the average person. Even sports content creators I follow like

Benchwarmer Bran who got invited out the week prior to the game for the big events like Radio

Row, and various events with famous influencers preferred to fly home and spend gameday with close friends and family. It shows the intrinsic values we get out of good food and company for

the big game.

Ultimately, the Super Bowl’s shrinking in-stadium crowds do not signal a decline in interest, but

rather a shift in priorities. The NFL has evolved into leveraging its digital channels where global

reach, streaming deals, and digital engagement are more significant than filling every seat. At the

same time, the intrinsic values of Super Bowl Sunday remain unchanged for millions of

Americans: gathering with friends and family, sharing food, and experiencing the game together.

As the business of football continues to expand digitally, the meaning of the event for fans may

be moving further away from the stadium and closer to home.