• by Jim Caruso , 3 hours ago

The NFL may dominate the calendar, but football fans rarely stay in one lane. New audience data shows that the same people tuning in on Sunday are spending the rest of the week engaging with other sports. For sponsors and marketers, this remains one of the most underused insights in audience planning.

We analyzed behavioral and brand-engagement data across distinct groups: NFL Fans, college football fans, fantasy sports fans, and U.S. adults 18+. Across every segment, we saw sports crossover. Loyalty to one sport doesn’t box fans in; more often, it amplifies attention elsewhere.

The Data Behind the Crossover

Among all cross-sport affinities, hockey ranks highest, with NFL fans indexed the highest, followed by college football fans and then fantasy sports fans. Even outside of seasonality, hockey consistently outperforms expectations as a shared passion point across the football audience.

Hockey is not the only category showing this overlap. NFL Fans also over-index for motorsports, and college and fantasy segments show strong engagement with soccer. The collective picture is clear: NFL fandom is not siloed. It is part of a larger sports ecosystem where consumers fluidly shift attention between leagues, events, and platforms.

What separates one fan group from another is not activity but emotional connection. NFL Fans channel that connection into tradition and legacy, making them more likely to follow established leagues like hockey. College and fantasy fans channel it into novelty and competition.

What This Means for Sponsors and Marketers

These patterns don’t just describe how fans behave, they offer a clear framework for how brands can plan more effectively.

Sponsorship efficiency: An auto brand sponsoring both the NFL and NHL can reach overlapping high-value consumers with complementary creative rather than redundant spend.

Cross-league planning: College and fantasy fans’ engagement with soccer and motorsports indicates openness to emerging or global sports properties. That suggests new entry points for advertisers looking to scale brand storytelling internationally without abandoning U.S. sports roots.

Creative Consistency: Brands can build thematic bridges between leagues. Messaging around teamwork, precision, or endurance carries seamlessly from football to hockey, creating brand coherence even across different seasons.

The opportunity lies in how these overlaps are sequenced. Instead of starting sponsorship strategy with individual leagues, start with shared audiences. The fan’s attention, not the schedule, should dictate the plan.

The Takeaway

Cross-sport connection is more than an efficiency tactic, it’s a blueprint for connected storytelling. The same fans powering NFL ratings are filling arenas, streaming international tournaments, and following athlete content across leagues. The overlap is measurable, and hockey leads the list. The lesson for sponsors and planners is simple: Buy audience behavior, not just inventory.

Modern fans don’t belong to a single game. They belong to a shared experience of motion, mastery, and meaning. That is the hidden overlap, and it’s where the next wave of marketing efficiency will emerge.