The NFL saw a significant increase in attendance during the 2022 regular season, not only beating the pandemic-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons but topping even pre-pandemic levels.
The average NFL crowd was 69,442 per game in 2022, the highest mark since 2016, according to Sports Business Journal.
Total attendance of 18.8 million was the highest ever, although that’s in part because 17-game seasons mean there are also more games than ever. The per-game average is a better measurement of the NFL’s success at the box office.
And the average shows that it was quite a successful year for the league’s ticket sales, particularly for teams that improved on the field: The Lions led all teams with a whopping 23.1 percent attendance increase, and the Jaguars were next at 10.8 percent.
The Bears had the worst attendance decline among teams that didn’t give up a home game to play internationally, with a 1.7 percent dip from 2021 to 2022.
Overall, 96.7 percent of NFL tickets were sold, up from the pre-pandemic level of 94.6 percent in 2019.
