NFL Nations: The Most Popular NFL Teams in the World

By Akiva Wienerkur   December 16, 2021 

NFL Nations: The Most Popular NFL Teams in the World

NFL fans are nothing if not dedicated to their team, but of all of the teams in the league, which is the most popular? Here at Sidelines, we stay up to date on the performance of all the NFL teams, to bring you the most accurate NFL odds possible, but we’ve never considered which are the most loved by fans – and in which country these fans live in. 

We used search data from across the US and the world to see which teams each state and country were searching for the most. Looking into search numbers relating to each NFL team, we were able to see which are the most popular in their home country, and which have managed to expand their fan base worldwide. 

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While the Dallas Cowboys might be known as ‘America’s Team’, the title of ‘Earth’s Team’ has yet to be claimed… Who will the lucky team be? 

The USA’s Favorite NFL Team

They’re not America’s Team for nothing – the Dallas Cowboys were the top search for eight different states. With 5,274,360 searches in the USA for Dallas Cowboy related terms, they are the most popular team in the country by far. The team’s defense has been exceptional this year, cementing their title as one of the best teams in the league. The incredible performance of Micah Parsons (who is on track to be named the Defensive Player of the Year) and Trevon Diggs (on track to have the second most interceptions in a single season) are furthering their reputation, so we doubt they’ll lose their top spot any time soon. 

The Most Popular NFL Teams in the USA | Sidelines
The Most Popular NFL Teams in the USA | Sidelines

Buffalo Bills Win the Battle for New York

New York, the fourth biggest state, has three NFL teams within the state: the New York Jets, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. Surprisingly, New York’s favorite team isn’t either of the ones whose name starts with the name of the state. The Buffalo Bills have 2,070,380 searches across the country, and 975,610 in New York alone. The Bills have improved significantly in recent years, especially since Josh Allen (QB) took the team to their first AFC Championship since their last Super Bowl appearance in 1994. In the 2021 season, they received a points differential of 108 within their first five games, so if they keep this up, they’re bound to hold onto their title as New York’s favorite.

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The Miami Dolphins Make a Splash in Florida

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have been Super Bowl champions last year, and had over one million searches in the last 12 months overall, but they are not the most popular NFL team in their home state. The Buccaneers also didn’t make the top choice of any state in the US, so even their Super Bowl win couldn’t push up their popularity in the country. Instead, of the three Floridian teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins come out on top. There were 947,220 searches in Florida for this team, making them statistically the most popular team in the state. Sorry, Tampa. 

States with Multiple Teams Can Only Have One Favorite

In states which are home to multiple NFL teams, only one can come out on top. Interestingly, despite California having three teams, San Francisco 49ers, LA Rams and LA Chargers, their favorite team hails from Texas. The Dallas Cowboys had 416,830 searches over the last 12 months in California, making them the state’s favorite team. The LA Rams and LA Chargers don’t seem to be having much luck popularity-wise, as even with their search numbers combined, they have fewer search results than the Cincinnati Bengals country-wide. Maybe they can turn it around in the next season. 

THE WORLD’S FAVORITE NFL TEAMS 2021 

Despite the Tampa Bay Buccaneers not winning the top spot in their home state, they are the most searched NFL team in over half the countries analyzed – 51 countries in total – including Sweden, Philippines and Australia. However, they don’t have the highest number of searches overall. In fact, they are beaten by five other teams’ search results. The Dallas Cowboys have the most number of searches at 6,283,060, however the majority of these searches came from the USA. So, considering this, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can be crowned ‘Earth’s Team’. Their global popularity shows that the Super Bowl, and Tom Brady specifically, play a huge role in the global search numbers when it comes to NFL teams. 

The Buffalo Bills are the top team in 19 countries, including Slovakia, Belgium and Italy. This could be put down to Josh Allen’s impressive performance recently, bringing more visibility to this team not just in the USA, but across the globe as well. 

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The Most Popular NFL Teams in the World | Sidelines
The Most Popular NFL Teams in the World | Sidelines

Germany Is the Green Bay Packers’ Second Home

Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers have the second highest search volume in the world – 3,443,120 searches overall – however they only come out on top in one country. The people of Germany seem to be huge Packers fans, with 75,780 searches coming from the country in the last 12 months. Quarterback Aaron Rogers was last year’s league looks like they’ll cruise to the playoffs in the NFC this year – and you better believe Germany will be tuning in. 

The Dolphins Have Crossed the Pond to Become the UK’s Favorite

The UK searched for Miami Dolphins related terms 69,770 times in the last 12 months. The team is also the favorite of New Zealand and Panama, but the popularity of the team in the UK could be down to their recent game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Jaguars narrowly beat the Dolphins in the game, but this clearly didn’t deter the Dolphins’ UK based fans. 

The Majority of NFL Teams Don’t Have Second Homes 

21 NFL teams didn’t come top of a country’s search results – but not for lack of trying. The Cleveland Browns have the third highest search volume in the world, with 3,224,480 searches in the last 12 months, but they’re constantly beat to the top spot by another team when it comes to individual country’s favorites. For example, in the Philippines, their following is substantial, with 4,500 searches in the last 12 months, but the team misses out to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by almost half (the Buccaneers had 12,330 searches). The Baltimore Ravens suffer a similar fate. They have over one million searches worldwide, but are none of the country’s top searches. 

So what makes the winning teams so popular, and is it possible to predict which teams might rise to the top in the future? Individual players can bring huge popularity to a team, as we’ve seen with Tom Brady, so by looking at the up and coming players and where the best players are coming from, we may be able to see which teams will come out on top in the future. Until then, the Dallas Cowboys firmly remain America’s Team – and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the world’s.

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