Ever wondered which NFL fanbases are the most likely to leave a game early? Find out how each team’s supporters are perceived by the rest of the league!
The NFL season is well underway, with fans enjoying the latest edition of action-packed drama and excitement. But which stadium-bound supporters are the most (and least) likely to leave a game early – and what are the most common reasons? NFL betting site Betway decided to investigate…
Surveying 1,250 football fans across the US of all ages and genders, we’re able to reveal which franchises are perceived to have the earliest leavers. Read on to see where your team ranks!
How often do NFL fans leave a game early?
Reviewing our results, we can reveal that an astonishing 38% of football fans admit to having left an NFL game early when supporting their team.
Delving deeper into the data, it’s interesting to see that of those fans inclined to leave early, an astonishing 21% would go with 30 minutes left, while 15% would exit after the third quarter.
Interestingly, split by gender, a huge 41% of males would leave early, compared to just 29% of female NFL fans, while 25-34-year-olds are the likeliest to exit prematurely (42%).
By location, no state tops Georgia when it comes to early leavers, with 57% of supporters admitting to having left before the end of a game, followed by fans in Indiana (47%), New York (46%), and Washington (43%).
The NFL fanbases with the earliest leavers
According to other NFL fans, the Chicago Bears have the league’s earliest leavers. In fact, 17% of football fans think Bears supporters would make an early exit for one reason or another.
Curiously, though, 21-24-year-olds would disagree, ranking the Bears (13%) behind five other teams in the Dallas Cowboys (18%), New York Giants (17%), Miami Dolphins (14%), New York Jets (14%), and Green Bay Packers (14%).
Similarly, those in the 35-44 age bracket consider New Yorkers to be the ficklest fans, ranking the Giants (17%) and Jets (17%) above the Bears (15%), while no group feels more strongly about the Bears’ wavering support than those aged 65 and above (22%)!
Taking second in the overall standings, however, we have the New York Jets (16%), followed by local rivals the New York Giants (15%), while Cleveland Browns fans place fourth (13%).
Meanwhile, other NFL franchises with scores of 10% and above include the Dallas Cowboys (12%), Washington Commanders (11%), and Detroit Lions (10%).
And, rounding out our likeliest early leavers, we have the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles pair the Rams and Chargers, and the Las Vegas Raiders, with each scoring 9%.
The NFL fanbases with the fewest early leavers
We’ve looked at the league’s earliest leavers, but how about the supporters who are most likely to stay from whistle to whistle?
Taking joint-top spot, with just 4% of rival fans considering them to be early leavers, we have the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs – though, with three Super Bowl appearances in the last four years for the latter, including two wins, it’s no surprise supporters are keen to catch all the action!
Next up, several teams scored 5%, including the Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Minnesota Vikings.
By age, however, 21-24-year-olds see Saints fans as the least likely to leave early (2%) – and actually place the Chiefs among the most likely (10%) – while those in the 25-34 bracket most-admire Titans supporters (4%) and the 65+ contingent place the Ravens top (1%).
Why do NFL fans leave early?
Of course, there could be a number of reasons for any fan to leave before the final whistle, but the most common include avoiding traffic – something over half of those who’ve left early (55%) cite – as well as exiting a blowout score (54%), beating the rush out of the stadium (47%), and poor weather conditions (45%).
Meanwhile, other reasons include a lack of excitement (28%) and partaking in a protest (10%).
Interestingly, there seems to be a split when we break out the data by gender, with male respondents most likely to leave a game early due to a blowout score (58%) and female fans most inclined to leave before the whistle to beat the traffic (55%).
Analyzing the results by location, NFL fans in New Jersey are most likely to leave prematurely to beat the traffic (75%), while those in Washington would do so in response to a blowout score (77%).
With over a third of NFL fans admitting to leaving games early, it’s interesting to see which teams come out on top – and which franchises experience a full stadium to the bitter end! If you’ve found this article interesting, why not explore even more from our football experts over on the Betway blog, or discover all the latest in-season NFL odds for your favorite team?
