When it comes to American sports, everyone always says that it is the NFL, then it is everyone else. Leagues like the NBA, MLB, and NHL have to watch when they schedule marquee games because they are always “competing” with the NFL. And by “competing,” we mean that they are at the mercy of the NFL. Basically, if the NFL is on that day, those other leagues can kiss their viewership goodbye.
Or, at least, that’s what we’ve always thought. However, according to this statistic, the NBA may have the upper hand after all.
It’s All About The Gram
In a recent post on their Instagram, Boardroom looked at the Instagram followings of the top ten major sports leagues. Coming in at first in this study was the Champions League. Their league’s account has 112 million followers (as of January 15, 2024). That makes sense, especially considering that soccer is a sport played and watched across the planet.
The second-place finisher is where things get interesting. The league whose account has the second-most Instagram followers is not the NFL. It’s the NBA. The NBA has 85.1 million followers. Meanwhile, the NFL only has 29.1 million people following its Instagram account.
Oddly enough, the NFL is sixth among major sports leagues in Instagram followers. Along with the Champions League and the NBA, the NFL is also trailing the Premier League, LaLiga, and the UFC in this category. But how?
Let’s Slow Our Role
Okay, let’s face it. When it comes to American sports, the NFL is still the top dog. Just look at how they dominated the NBA on Christmas Day (again) despite that holiday historically being the NBA’s special day.
When you think about it, there are probably three logical explanations for why the NBA has so many more Instagram followers than the NFL.
One theory is that since the NBA is more of a global sport than the NFL, they probably have more followers around the world than the NFL does.
Another possibility is that the NBA is a more interesting social media sport. With all the crazy crossovers, dunks, and 3-pointers baked into any given basketball game, the NBA produces more eye-catching highlights for fans to interact with on social media than the NFL.
Lastly, the reason for this massive disparity could be simply that the NBA does a better job of being active on social media than the NFL does.
Oh well, whatever the case may be, that statistic is certainly worth raising an eyebrow over.
