The Seattle Seahawks produced a dominant defensive display to become Super Bowl champions for the second time, defeating the New England Patriots 29–13 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
NBC’s coverage of the game on 8th February drew an estimated 124.9 million viewers in the US, making it the second most-watched Super Bowl on record, behind only last year’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Across the entire telecast for Super Bowl LX, viewership peaked at 137.8 million viewers.
It rounded out another highly productive year for the NFLwhich saw regular season viewership climb year-on-year (YoY), franchises selling stakes at record valuations and sponsorship revenue continuing to rise.
With the season once again demonstrating why the NFL is the world’s most commercially lucrative sports league, SportsPro picks out the standout numbers from the competition’s 106th edition.
Regular season viewership climbs and streaming milestones set
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The NFL broke its own streaming record multiple times during the 2025 season. Netflix’s broadcast of the Detroit Lions versus the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day averaged 27.5 million viewers in the US, surpassing the 27.2 million recorded for the 2024 Christmas game on the platform.
That benchmark was eclipsed in January when the Chicago Bears’ wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers averaged 31.61 million viewers on Amazon Prime Videobecoming the first NFL game to surpass 30 million viewers on a streaming service.
The opening week would set the tone for the season ahead, with CBS averaging 23.9 million viewers for its 7th September matchup between the Packers and the Lions – the network’s best opening-week audience in 27 years.
The Vikings’ win over the Cleveland Browns in London also became the most-watched NFL Network London game on record, averaging 6.4 million viewers on television and digital platforms.
Over the course of the campaign, the NFL recorded its second most-watched regular season on record, averaging 18.7 million viewers. Viewership was up ten per cent on 2024 and only trailed the 1989 season, which averaged 19 million viewers.
It’s worth noting that part of the increase in 2025 viewership can be attributed to a change in measurement. For the first time, Nielsen combined insights from its household television viewing panel with big data in order to provide more accurate audience measurements in the streaming era. Nielsen’s ‘Big Data + Panel’ measurement was also used for Super Bowl LX.
Financial sector helps fuel sponsorship growth
The NFL strengthened its position as the most valuable marketing platform in US sports, with team sponsorship revenue increasing eight per cent from the 2024 season to US$2.7 billion, according to SponsorUnited.
The report found that the financial, ticketing, beverage (alcohol), healthcare, and automotive categories attracted the highest levels of spending, with financial bringing in more than US$300 million in sponsorship revenue.
More than 440 new brands bought sponsorship assets for the 2025 season, with technology adding 39 brands – the highest of any category.
The Dallas Cowboys were the top revenue-generating team for sponsorship, followed by the Las Vegas Raidersthe Los Angeles Ramsthe Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. The Tennessee Titans led the league in YoY sponsorship revenue growth. Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean signed more brand deals than any other player, with 22.
The NFL would also secure new partnerships with NetApp, Jersey Mike’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, Novartis and Breitling for 2025, while extending agreements with Adobe and EA Sports.
One sponsor that won’t be returning next season is Visawhich confirmed it will end its 30-year partnership when its contract expires in March. The company is reportedly set to be replaced by American Express in the credit and payment card category in a seven-year deal worth US$910 million.
Franchise stakes sold at record valuations
More stake sales in franchises came in 2025, with billionaire Julia Koch taking a reported ten per cent share in the New York Giants at a record valuation of more than US$10 billion.
The Patriots also sold a reported eight per cent stake to private equity firm Sixth Street and billionaire Dean Metropoulos at a valuation in excess of US$9 billion. Pete Briger Jr, the executive chair of Fortress Investment Group, picked up a 3.2 per cent stake in the San Francisco 49ersvaluing the team at about US$8.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Bears Partners became the first private equity firm to own stakes in multiple NFL teams after buying eight per cent of the Los Angeles Chargers. The company, which is being acquired by KKR in a US$1.4 billion deal, first took a stake in the Buffalo Bills in December 2024.
For the first time, all 32 NFL teams are worth at least US$5 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates for 2025with the average franchise now worth US$7.1 billion – a 25 per cent YoY jump.
The Cowboys led the way for the 19th year running, with a valuation of US$13 billion – up 29 per cent YoY and a whopping US$2.5 billion ahead of the Rams. The Giants (US$10.1 billion), the Patriots (US$9 billion) and the 49ers (US$8.6 billion) completed the top five.
Domestic attendance falls but ticket demand still high
The average attendance for an NFL game in the 2025 season dipped for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, falling 0.8 per cent YoY to 69,055, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ). The campaign saw 97.6 per cent of total capacity occupied, compared to 98.3 per cent in 2024.
Even so, NFL tickets remain in high demand. Of the league’s 32 teams, 12 sold 100 per cent or more of their posted capacity, while only three sides (the Titans, the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars) failed to fill at least 93 per cent of their seats.
The Cowboys retained top spot for total attendance, with 743,934 fans flocking to AT&T Stadium – more than 54,000 higher than the next-best total recorded by the Denver Broncos (689,268).
The NFL played seven international games in 2025, up from five fixtures in 2024, across the UK, Germany, Brazil, Spain and Ireland. The increase helped total international attendance rise 5.4 per cent YoY to 481,341. The average stadium capacity for 2025 international games stood at 68,763, compared to 65,268 in 2024, with all games selling out.
The NFL’s international ambitions show no signs of slowing down. Nine regular season games will be played overseas in 2026, with Australia and France confirmed as new territories, alongside a return to Mexico.
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