The Dallas Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in over 20 years, but the decorated franchise is still one of the most popular in the NFL today. In fact, according to a study by Michael Lewis at Emory University, the Cowboys have the most loyal fans in the league.
Lewis has developed statistical models to evaluate three key metrics: “Fan Equity, Social Equity and Road Equity.” He assures readers that his findings are solely based on the data these metrics produce rather than his own opinion. From the study's introduction:
Each year, I do an analysis of NFL fandom. The analysis is grounded in economic and marketing theory, and uses statistical tools to shed light on the question of which teams have the most loyal or “best” fans. The key point of differentiation is that this is a truly quantitative analysis. It’s driven by data, not by emotion.
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The key is that these models are used to determine which city’s fans are more willing to spend or follow their teams after controlling for factors like market size and short-term changes in winning and losing.
This explains the Cowboys' spot at the top of the list. While their market size is fairly large, their popularity across the country is immense, and they regularly sell-out the massive AT&T Stadium with tickets still going for a lot of money on the secondary market. Using the three metrics above, Dallas finished with the highest Fan Equity, the top Road Equity, and the second-best Social Equity.
Coming in second are the New England Patriots, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Tennessee Titans finished last, with the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cleveland Browns rounding out the bottom five.
The complete list can be found here.
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