Playing the world’s top-grossing sport brings millions of fans on social media and in stadiums, watching live games. Although total attendance at regular season games of the National Football League has consistently been more than 16 million per season over the past years, 2022 set a new record.

According to data presented by SportsLens.com, NFL’s total attendance hit an all-time high of 18.8 million in 2022, showing a massive 1.6 million increase in five years.

NFL`s Total Attendance Skyrocketed After Four Years of Decline

Being a football fan in America does not come cheap. According to TMR NFL Team Marketing Report, the average cost for a family of four to enjoy a home game in the NFL, including refreshments and merchandise, has almost tripled in the past decade, jumping from $200 to close to $600. Still, the number of people watching regular season games live at the stadiums continues growing.

Statista and ESPN data show that in 2016, total attendance at NFL regular season games hit 17.79 million. This figure slipped to 17.26 million the following season, but the downturn continued till 2019, with the total attendance falling to 16.67 million that year.

In 2020, the number of people who attended regular season NFL games plummeted to 2.37 million as many games were played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. After the huge hit caused by COVID-19, NFL total attendance jumped to a massive 18.29 million in 2021 and then skyrocketed to an all-time high of 18.82 million last year. This means around 1.6 million more fans watched regular season NFL games in 2022 than in 2017.

Dallas Cowboys hit the Highest Total Attendance of more than 1.4 million in 2022

The Statista and ESPN data showed the Dallas Cowboys drew the most spectators to their games, with a total attendance of more than 1.4 million in 2022. Their home games had more than 841,000 spectators, almost 300,000 more than those played away. The Cowboys also had the highest average attendance that season with around 93,465 people attending each home game.

New York Jets ranked second on this list with a total of 1.25 million spectators last season and an average of 78,000 viewers watching their home games. New York Giants followed, with a total attendance of 1.24 million and more than 74,600 fans going to their home games.

Statistics show the Washington Commanders were at the back of the list, with a total of 1.08 million spectators who watched their 17 games and an average crowd of 58,100 people attending each home game.