According to a recent study, the Raiders have the 20th-best fan base in the NFL.
The study, which was commissioned by Emory’s Goizueta Business School, graded each fan base on three criteria – fan equity, social media equity, and road equity.
Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee gave a summary of each criteria with commentary:
1. Fan Equity measures fans’ willingness to support a given team, while adjusting for factors such as market size and win-loss record. The Cowboys, Patriots and — surprisingly — the 49ers rank high here, with fans willing to pay a premium for tickets and merchandise to support these teams.
2. Social Equity measures fans’ willingness to stand up for a team online, following and liking them across multiple social networks. The Patriots, Cowboys and Broncos head the pack here. Social Equity is often a more reliable barometer of national awareness than Fan Equity, since anyone anywhere can follow a team online without having to purchase tickets.
3. Road Equity documents how well a team draws fans on the road. In the NBA, you can always count on a LeBron or Golden State bounce; the correlating teams in the NFL are the Cowboys, Eagles and Raiders, with the Patriots (5) not far behind. Sometimes these teams have fans that travel (Steelers, 6) and sometimes the bandwagons have set up shop around the country (hello, Cowboys fans in Los Angeles). Either way, the result is the same: a strong road presence.
The Raiders, according to the study, ranked no. 31 in fan equity, no. 22 in social equity, and no. 3 in road equity.
The biggest discrepancy with this formula is the Raiders fan equity rating which appears to be responsible for a third of the team’s final ranking.
The Raiders sold out every game in 2016 with tickets on the secondary market sometimes tripling face value. The 49ers, who were ranked no. 2 in fan equity, had tremendous ticket revenue but with a caveat – the fans weren’t actually going to the games.
Lot more blue/green than red here at Levi's Stadium, you know, except for the empty seats. #SEAvsSF #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/DW5O1hu6V0
— KING 5 Sports (@KING5Sports) January 1, 2017
Sure, the 49ers were selling seats, but primarily because season ticket holders had already paid a premium for a personal seat license when Levi’s Stadium opened in 2014.
What’s $2,000 for season tickets after throwing down $40,000 or more for the opportunity to buy the tickets in the first place?
But go to the game? No thanks.
Niner fans were given a no. 2 fan equity rank, but were essentially willing to pay money to not have to see them play.
Here’s the full breakdown of all 32 teams:
Another strange piece in the report. The Chiefs local fan base ranked no. 29?
Not buying it.
twitter: @raidersbeat
yeah if you are basing it on $$$$$
Stupid. Everybody knows the 49er fans are all Fairweather fans. Raider fans bleed silver and black.
Whoever made this study needs to stop smoking crack
THIS IS A BUNCH OF B.S. AND A LIE. THE OAKLAND RAIDERS HANDS DOWN HAVE THE MOST LOYAL AND FAITHFUL FAN BASE ACROSS THE U.S. AND NO OTHER TEAM COMES CLOSE, BOTH IN FAITHFULNESS AND IN NUMBERS.
Get it right or don’t rank at all the Raiders have the most popular fanbase apparel sales all over the globe one of the most recognized organizations on the planet come on guys you can do better than that!