The 2021 NFL season opened last week with a Thursday night matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Team officials report that all home games are for the defending Super Bowl champions are sold out. What’s more, Raymond James and the 31 other NFL stadiums are expected to be at full capacity this season.
Meanwhile, Super Bowl LVI is scheduled for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Feb. 13. The venue is home to both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers — which are in different conferences and could conceivably meet on Super Sunday.
There’s a lot of football to be played between now and then, though, as well as plenty of preseason numbers to digest. Here are the best of them:
• 0: Number of games canceled during the 2020 NFL season (ESPN.com)
• 0: Number of virus outbreaks reported based on attendance at NFL games in 2020, according to the NFL (ESPN.com)
• 7.31 million: Number of television viewers for the 2021 Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys — the highest rated preseason telecast since 2017 (Sportsnaut.com)
•9.91 million: Average number of viewers who tuned into the 2021 NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns (Sportsnaut.com)
• 15.4 million: Average number of television viewers during the NFL’s 17-week 2020 regular season (Forbes.com)
• 16.5 million: Average number of viewers for the 2019 regular season (Forbes.com)
• 15.8 million: Average number of viewers for the 2018 regular season (Forbes.com)
• 92.1: Percentage of occupied hotel rooms in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, during Super Bowl LV weekend in February 2021 (visittampabay.com)
• 84.7: Percentage of occupied hotel rooms in the county during Super Bowl XLIII, which Tampa hosted in 2009 (visittampabay.com)
• 93: Percentage of NFL players vaccinated, as of Aug. 27 (usatoday.com)
• 1,181,066: Number of fans that collectively attended 19 regular-season games at all NFL stadiums in 2020 (ESPN.com)
• 197,313: Number of fans that collectively attended Dallas Cowboy games at AT&T Stadium in 2020, the most in the league (ESPN.com)
• 309.2 million: Amount of national revenue, in U.S. dollars, that each NFL team received for the 2020 season (Sportico.com)
• 4: Minimum number of NFL teams (New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers) that each pledged $1 million to the Gulf Coast Renewal Fund in the wake of Hurricane Ida; the NFL Foundation also pledged $1 million (NFL.com)
•1.4 billion: Cost, in U.S., dollars of a proposed new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, that would include about 60,000 seats and 60 suites (CNBC.com)
•28: Number of games the NFL has played in London since 2007, with two more planned at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October (NFL.com)
About the Author
