Through gathering information from Nielsen Scarborough, Forbes magazine determined the top ten fan bases in the NFL. Green Bay Packers fans came in first place based on a number of categories.
The top ten teams according to the Forbes magazine rankings are as followed: (1) Green Bay Packers; (2) Denver Broncos; (3) New Orleans Saints; (4) New England Patriots; (5) Baltimore Ravens; (6) Indianapolis Colts; (T-7) Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers; (9) Seattle Seahawks; and (10) Chicago Bears. With the smallest market in the NFL, the fans of Green Bay took the honors.
Forbes magazine used various criteria to determine the NFL's best fan base, including hometown crowd reach, social media reach, stadium capacity percentage, and merchandise sales (on NFLShop.com). According to Forbes, Green Bay Packers fans scored the highest marks in each category except for television rankings, in which they placed second, and merchandise sales, where they placed seventh. With a metro population of just 306,241, the fans' first-place ranking is impressive.
The Green Bay Packers Facebook fans (4.4 million) and Twitter followers (701,000) drastically exceed the city's metro population, meaning there are likely many more Packers fans across the United States. But the city itself posted impressive statistics: 84% of adults in Green Bay are Packers fans after reporting either watching, attending, and/or listening to games in the past year. Additionally, based on the findings, Green Bay fans proved loyal throughout the past three years (which was the extent of the research), unlike Denver Broncos fans who seem to have become bandwagoners with the arrival of Peyton Manning.
Prior to the team's signing of Peyton Manning before the 2012 season, Denver had three consecutive years of below capacity attendance for their games. Over the past two seasons, during which Manning has been under center, the franchise reported 100.7% and 101% capacity on top of becoming the best selling merchandise.
Interestingly enough, the Packers managed to capture first place with the smallest metro population while teams with the largest market size in the NFL (New York Giants and New York Jets) did not make the list. The Chicago Bears have the second largest market in the league and they came in tenth place.
You can read more about the Forbes magazine rankings in this Forbes.com article.
