NFL vs NBA: Differences in Format, Viewership, and Revenue

The National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are the most watched sports leagues in the world, especially in the United States. Over the years, these games have attracted millions of fans.

As of 2024, the NFL has more than 410 million fans worldwide, while the NBA has about 2.4 billion fans worldwide.

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In the United States, the NFL Super Bowl attracts more than 100 million viewers, while the NBA finals average around 12 to 20 million per game.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the key differences between the NFL and the NBA.

From rules, season structure, team count and fan base to players’ salaries and global reach, we’ll break down the reasons for these two major leagues.

What is NFL?

The National Football League is a major professional football organization, established on September 17, 1920 in Canton, Ohio, as the Professional Football Association (APFA), and was renamed the NFL in 1922.

Jim Thorpe is a legendary American athlete and league player who served as the first president. It is distributed evenly between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).

National Football Conference (NFC)

• NFC East: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commander
• NFC North: Chicago Bear, Detroit Lion, Green Bay Packer, Minnesota Vikings
• NFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• NFC West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

American Football Conference (AFC)

• AFC East: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
• AFC North: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Southern AFC: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
• AFC West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Trailer, Los Angeles Charger

The NFL is the richest professional sports league in the world, with the highest average attendance rate in the global sports league. This season includes a preseason, an 18-week regular season, and the playoffs ended up in the Super Bowl.

What is the NBA?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America and was founded in 1949 by the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The alliance was founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York, with Maurice Podoloff as its first president.

Key facts about the NBA:

• Formation: The NBA was founded on August 3, 1949, when the BAA and NBL merged.
• Early Years: Founded in 1946, BAA was initially performed in major arenas in the Northeast and Midwest and Canada.
• Team: Initially, the NBA had 17 teams; later, by the 1954-55 season, it dropped to eight teams and then expanded to the current 30 teams.
• Fusion: The NBA integrated with players like Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel’s “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd in the early 1950s.
• Global Influence: Today, the NBA is a global sports and media organization known for its entertainment and innovative basketball style.

structure:

• Regular season: The NBA regular season is usually held from October to April, with each team participating in 82 games.
• Playoffs: The playoffs ended the regular season and finally reached the final in the NBA finals.
• Team: The alliance is divided into two meetings, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, each with three divisions.

NFL vs NBA: Differences between game rules and seasonal structure

If you are a sports enthusiast, then you must be familiar with the NBA and NFL, and if you are not familiar with it, we are here to help you.

NFL (National Football League):

• Gameplay: American football involves pushing the ball in a series of falls. The team has four falls that can move the ball for 10 yards or score points. Scores can be done through touchdowns (6 points), goal-shot (3 points) or safety (2 points). The team can also try to convert after a touchdown to get extra points.
• Players: Each team hits 11 players at a time, specializing in offensive, defensive or special team roles.
• Time: NFL games consist of three quarters of 15 minutes, and the stop phase extends the game duration to more than three.
• Penalty: Depending on the severity, violations can lead to yardage losses, reductions or disqualifications.

NBA (National Basketball Association):

• Gameplay: Basketball focuses on scoring by shooting the ball into the opponent’s team’s rim. Players push the goal by dribbling or passing the ball. Violations or illegal acts caused by double-disks can lead to mistakes.
• Players: Each team has five players at a time.
• Time: NBA games consist of 12 minutes of each three-quarters, with additional downtime and overtime when needed.
• Shooting Clock: The team must try a shot (NBA) or lose possession within 24 seconds.
• Foul: An individual foul can result in a free throw or a turnover, depending on the situation.

Seasonal structure

1) NFL:

• Regular season: Each team plays 17 games in 18 weeks, including one week. The team will alternate nine regular season games between meetings each year.
• Playoffs: Playoffs include the single-elimination format for the Super Bowl.
• Schedule Formula: Teams are rotated based on partitions and previous points competitors, ensuring each team faces at least all other teams every four years.

2) NBA:

• Regular season: The team plays 82 games (72 games in the last season). The game includes a mutual aid game in the meeting and with home run format.
• Games in the game: Rank 7-10th in each meeting before the playoffs begin.
• Playoffs: The playoffs were played in seven best series formats in multiple rounds, leading to the NBA Finals.

Clear at a glance

feature	NFL	NBA
Players of each team	11	5
Game time	Four 15-minute quarters	Four 12-minute quarters
Rating system	See more : Paris Olympics 2024 Badminton: Complete Schedule, Medal Table and India Schedule Touchdown, field goals, safety	Scoring the shot, free throw
Regular race	17	82
Playoff format	Single elimination	Best Seven Series
Scheduling complexity	Partition rotation	Home and showdown

Players’ salary, income and popularity: NFL vs NBA comparison

The NFL and the NBA are two of the most outstanding sports leagues in the United States, but there are huge differences in player salaries, league income and popularity. Here is a detailed comparison:

1. Player salary

• NFL: The NFL operates with a salary cap system, which is set to $279.2 million per team for the 2025 season.
• NFL players have a big variance in salary, with quarterbacks and star players earning the highest. However, the average salary is lower than that of the NBA due to the larger team members (53 players per team).
• The total player cost (including benefits) is estimated to be $362.48 million per team in 2025.

• NBA: The average salary of NBA players in the 2024-25 season was $11.91 million, which is much higher than the NFL average.
• The median NBA salary is $6.7 million, reflecting a more balanced distribution compared to the NFL.
• Top NBA players ordered a large number of contracts; Stephen Curry, for example, will receive $55.76 million in 2024-25, while Jaylen Brown signed a record $304 million deal.

2. League revenue

• NFL: The revenue of the NFL is significantly higher than that of the NBA, and by 2027, it is predicted to reach $25 billion per year (from $8 billion in 2010 to about $8 billion).
• The revenue comes from lucrative TV deals (e.g., $113 billion in 11 years), sponsorship and growing international interest.
• NBA: The NBA has had annual revenues of more than $10 billion as of the recent seasons, marking consistent growth, but is still well below the NFL data.
• Sources of revenue include television rights deals with ESPN, NBCuniversal and Amazon, as well as ticket sales and merchandise.

3. popular

• NFL: The NFL is widely regarded as the most popular sport in the United States. Its Super Bowl is one of the most watched events worldwide.
• The league benefits from shorter seasons (17 games per team), thus expanding the importance of each game.
• NBA: The NBA has a strong global follower thanks to its international star and marketing efforts.
• Although it lags behind the NFL in popularity in the United States, it has performed well internationally, especially in markets such as China and Europe.

4. Average salary

• NBA: The average salary for NBA players is about $10.5 million to $11 million, reflecting the league’s smaller player size (usually 15 players per team) and higher salary caps.
• NFL: By comparison, NFL players have much lower average salary, around $2.8 million to $3.2 million due to a larger roster (53 players per team) and a different salary cap structure.

5. Median salary

• NBA: The median salary of NBA players is about $3.8 million, indicating a more balanced distribution of benefits.
• NFL: The median salary for NFL players is greatly reduced to about $860,000, highlighting the difference in income distribution between the two leagues.

6. Top players’ salaries

• NBA: The highest NBA player earns a considerable salary, usually over $50 million a year. For example, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic are among the highest-paid players.
• NFL: While top NFL players, especially quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes, they are paid very well, but they usually don’t reach the same level as top NBA stars. However, the quarterback is one of the highest-paid positions in the NFL.

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Optical Illusion