Over the last few seasons, the NFL has had moments where people questioned how the league was being ran. The way that they have handled situations like National-Anthem Protests, sexual-assault cases, and many other punishments like Tom Brady and Ezekiel Elliott's suspension. They NFL has also been familiar with relocation in the last few years. Cities like St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland have lost their teams to markets like Los Angeles and Las Vegas because of "business decisions" and inability to build a new stadium in their cities. Greedy owners have taken over the NFL and have shown that money is more important than their fanbase. According to Daily Mail, 51% of men between ages 18 and 49 are still following the NFL closely, compared to 75% from the 2016 season.
We can even determine this already based off of Instagram followers. with the NBA at over 29 million followers compared to just over 12 million for the NFL, the audience already favors the NBA right now. the difference between the NFL and NBA is that the NBA can test out markets that are not familiar with having a professional sports franchise. Cities like Sacramento, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Orlando, San Antonio are all fanbases that have fans that do not have any other sports teams. NBA players also have much larger brands then NFL players do. The reason for that is the amount of money they make in each year and the amount of shoe deals they make per season is also a big part to building their brand. Their faces are always seen on the court while they are playing, along with their commercial ads as well.
The NBA can test the Market in new cities while the NFL can only test in certain cities pleading the owners needs. They are losing the core fanbase that has meant a lot to them throughout their existence. College football is what people are converting to because of the amount of games they are able to watch during a day and there is no commissioner or owner who tries to take over the spotlight to the team and make it all about their earnings. The NBA supports player movements while the NFL deflects them thats why the NFL is on the decline and the NBA will eventually gain the majority of American citizens.
Figures like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant are all the faces of the NBA and are constantly compared to and talked about 365 days a year while Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Joe Montana are only mentioned during football season. Dynasties have taken over the NBA and college football because they raise the bar for championships and being excellent. People like to see excellence. The NFL has parity and does not have consistent excellence for the long run. Dynasties in the NFL are dying down and people want to see teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide and Golden State Warriors take over their respective leagues. The new millennial age likes to see excellence. The NBA is excellent at what it does.
