NFL vs. NBA vs. MLB vs. NHL

[fantasyfootball]

Interested to see power rankings of these leagues. I think it's pretty obvious NFL is the biggest of all, but I would like to hear impressions of sports fans on the relative size and power amongst the four.

I don't have any set criteria, but any explanation of your metrics (including fans, money, geo scale, etc) would be nice. Also, any head to head matchups would be cool to see.

Is NBA > MLB?

Is NHL even close?

Does Nascar register anywhere in here?

[stretch]

id say

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. NBA
4. NHL

[lefty]

1. NHL






















Everything else

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Here it'd be:

1A. NFL
1B. MLB
3. NHL
4. NBA

The only reason the Wings are above the Pistons is because the team has been championship caliber for a very long time. Which is why the Wings led the league in attendance for 17 seasons IIRC.

[TD 21]

The NBA has clearly passed the MLB again. That's really the only two spots that are up for grabs, because the NFL will always be number one and the NHL will always be number four.

The NFL being number one, however, I believe has very little to do with their on field product and a lot more to do with the inherent advantages their sport enjoys. Such as: playing once a week, generally playing on Sunday's, only playing 16 games in the regular season, only 8 of which are at home.

Think about it, if you're a casual sports fan in you're city, maybe you don't really have the time to follow your NBA or MLB team, which plays all the time, but you more than likely will have time to follow your NFL team, because it's so much easier. Plus, because of how few games there are, every game is like an event. There is no part of the season where monotony creeps in, no dog days.

The lack of games and virtually every game being important/an event insures high ratings and also makes the league attendance wise a far easier sell than any of the others. They don't have to worry about selling mid week games, against run of the mill teams, in a relatively unimportant game. All they have to do is sell 8 home dates vs 41 or 81 and the vast majority of those 8 are played on a Sunday.

I think a lot of the time the NFL get's too much credit. There's no doubt that it's a physically grueling sport, but if NHL teams can play 3 or 4 games a week more often than not, you're telling me NFL teams couldn't play more than once? Of course they could, but then part of the appeal of their product would begin to fade. In their case, less is definitely more.

If the NFL had a schedule like the other leagues from day one, would it still be the most popular? Probably, because violence sells. But I don't think it would be quite the untouchable number one that it is today.

[ALWAYS bet on BLACK]

I cant wait til the NBA and NFL lockout

Both sports are played by pure thugs

[lefty]

Playoff hockey is amazing

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

It was better before they changed to the rules they play with now.

But it is still the best playoff tourney out there.

[balli]

According to the American Public, at large, it has to be:

NFL
NBA
MLB
NHL

I'm sure there are regional differences that pump up hockey and baseball, but for the country as a whole, we devote more time and interest to basketball than we do baseball and hockey. Baseball in particular has had a bad slide since about 2003 or 2004 or so. Nobody cares anymore, especially people who are younger than 60.

The NFL being number one, however, I believe has very little to do with their on field product and a lot more to do with the inherent advantages their sport enjoys

And I disagree with this. They might have advantages the other sports don't in terms of scheduling, etc, but their product is amazing. Not guaranteeing contracts is the best thing the NFL has going for it. The fact that teams can cut the out of non-performers has made it an incredibly compe ive sport. In the NFL, you put up or you shut up or you don't get paid; there's none of this en led ass McGrady-esque bull in the NFL.

I'd like to see the rookie bonuses mitigated in some way, but on the whole, the NFL does things that translate into a great, great product.

[IronMexican]

NFL is #1 by a long shot(In my heart) and in the consensus of most of America.

[Dr. Gonzo]

For me it is:

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. NBA
4. NHL

If it wasn't for all the steroids in baseball and the inability of the American youth to stay focused on a slow paced game for hours the MLB would be above the NBA. The NBA also has the advantage of having "street cred". The popularity of the hip-hop culture among the youth also lends to the popularity of the NBA.

[TD 21]

Playoff hockey is amazing

I'd rank it second behind playoff basketball. But it's the most difficult to win, from a physical standpoint. I'd rank the NBA second, MLB third and NFL fourth, in that regard.

I don't care how physically grueling football is, the lack of games makes it by far the easiest to win. It's like the NCAA tournament. You don't have to be consistently excellent, you just have to get hot for a few games.

According to the American Public, at large, it has to be:

NFL
NBA
MLB
NHL

I'm sure there are regional differences that pump up hockey and baseball, but for the country as a whole, we devote more time and interest to basketball than we do baseball and hockey. Baseball in particular has had a bad slide since about 2003 or 2004 or so. Nobody cares anymore, especially people who are younger than 60.

And I disagree with this. They might have advantages the other sports don't in terms of scheduling, etc, but their product is amazing. Not guaranteeing contracts is the best thing the NFL has going for it. The fact that teams can cut the out of non-performers has made it an incredibly compe ive sport. In the NFL, you put up or you shut up or you don't get paid; there's none of this en led ass McGrady-esque bull in the NFL.

I'd like to see the rookie bonuses mitigated in some way, but on the whole, the NFL does things that translate into a great, great product.

It's an old school sport that doesn't jive with the North American lifestyle today. Everything is fast paced and people want things now and baseball's not like that. I think it'll become increasingly less popular as time wears on and the NBA will become increasingly more popular. The NFL and NHL will probably stay more or less the same.

That's subjective; not factual. In the NFL, players are okay with that though, but that would never pass the smell test in the other three leagues. But I don't feel that's what makes their product supposedly amazing. Again I refer to the lack of games. It's easier to play hard when you only play 16 regular season games and once a week. No back to backs or four in fives or five in sevens. In the NFL, they don't ever have to worry about their body clocks being adjusted to a certain time, etc.

Basketball is also a sport where it's easier to see if someone isn't going all out. I'm not saying it's okay to not play hard, but how could most NBA players not pace themselves? They have to if they're going to have anything left for later in the season/playoffs. The schedule is grueling.

Bull . There's plenty of it. The NFL should have a far bigger image problem than it does and the only reason it doesn't, is because unlike the NBA, it's not viewed as the "black league", despite the fact that it's predominately black.

That's a joke. Rookies salaries should be capped, like the NBA and NHL.

[Goran Dragic]

The only league of the 4 I still have any interest in is the NFL. The NBA has no parity at all and won't until there is a hard salary cap, 16 teams make the playoffs and maybe 3 actually have a chance to win it all. In addition it's becoming a league that every year is more about athleticism than it is skill or smarts. Sucks compared to the NFL when 12 teams make it and almost all of them have a chance, even a 9-7 team only made it cause of a weak ass division. Baseball is another league that sucks because it's dictated by spending power. Hockey is hockey.

The 3 things I'll still be following closely are NFL, college football and college basketball. Everything else I could give two s about.

[balli]

Bull . There's plenty of it. The NFL should have a far bigger image problem than it does and the only reason it doesn't, is because unlike the NBA, it's not viewed as the "black league", despite the fact that it's predominately black.

I'm not saying the NFL isn't thugged the out, because it is and it should have more of an image problem than the NBA does.

But in terms of holdouts and pouting and demanding a starting role, etc, that doesn't fly in the NFL unless there's talent to back it up. Look at Revis, here's a guy who is holding out, but not because of an inflated ego or false notions of superiority, but because he's extremely good and because he deserves to be compensated accordingly. If he doesn't come to play, he doesn't get payed and that's his or the team's prerogative.

Meanwhile, there are so many NBA players who don't show up to compete, but play anyway, or don't play, but get sent home to receive monthly paychecks for sitting on their ass. And that's just ridiculous. The NBA could learn a thing or two from the NFL when it comes to not rewarding mediocrity and from a players perspective, if it takes a work stoppage to move in that direction, I'm all for it. Although, not to let the owners off the hook, they're the ones who let the league get out of control and the work stoppage/loss of profits for them would be good to see as well.

[BUMP]

The NBA has no parity at all and won't until there is a hard salary cap, 16 teams make the playoffs and maybe 3 actually have a chance to win it all.

Agreed, the NBA has growingly become more re ed. 7 game series, plus the bull superstar calls eliminate 90% of any teams chances on winning it all. Barring injuries, we already know its either LA or Miami winning it all next year.

*cue grey SpurFan saying they have a chance now that they signed Splitter*

lol grey SpurFan

Baseball is another league that sucks because it's dictated by spending power.

I used to think the same thing for some teams, but look at Tampa Bay. They were in the worst position of any team in the big leagues a few years ago. They were the worst franchise in baseball, with a cheap owner in the same division as the Yankees and Boston. But they somehow turned it all around and almost won the world series. That's what makes MLB playoffs so great. Any team can get hot and win it all, it's pretty unpredictable

[Goran Dragic]

Unlike the NBA, like contract holdouts and pouting is somewhat warranted in the NFL. You have a very short shelf life as a pro football player and that shelf life can come to an end real quick with the wrong injury. In addition you know that your basically destroying your body and compromising how much you'll enjoy life past age 50 by being a pro football player. They have every right to demand as much money as they can make as long as they can make it. Also, unlike the NBA, if they get injured, they get put on IR and their salary gets reduced. If teams have the right to put someone on IR and reduce his salary, that player has the right to want a new contract before his old one is up.

[BUMP]

I'm not saying the NFL isn't thugged the out, because it is and it should have more of an image problem than the NBA does.

But in terms of holdouts and pouting and demanding a starting role, etc, that doesn't fly in the NFL unless there's talent to back it up. Look at Revis, here's a guy who is holding out, but not because of an inflated ego or false notions of superiority, but because he's extremely good and because he deserves to be compensated accordingly. If he doesn't come to play, he doesn't get payed and that's his or the team's prerogative.

Meanwhile, there are so many NBA players who don't show up to compete, but play anyway, or don't play, but get sent home to receive monthly paychecks for sitting on their ass. And that's just ridiculous. The NBA could learn a thing or two from the NFL when it comes to not rewarding mediocrity and from a players perspective, if it takes a work stoppage to move in that direction, I'm all for it. Although, not to let the owners off the hook, they're the ones who let the league get out of control and the work stoppage/loss of profits for them would be good to see as well.

Don't you have some black people to lynch in your backyard?

[balli]

Don't you have some black people to lynch in your backyard?

Your contribution has been invaluable.

[Goran Dragic]

I used to think the same thing for some teams, but look at Tampa Bay. They were in the worst position of any team in the big leagues a few years ago. They were the worst franchise in baseball, with a cheap owner in the same division as the Yankees and Boston. But they somehow turned it all around and almost won the world series. That's what makes MLB playoffs so great. Any team can get hot and win it all, it's pretty unpredictable

Yeah but Tampa knows that their window is only open for so long. They know it's only a matter of time before their young studs like Evan Longoria and David Price sign with New York or Boston. For them to compete with the big market teams, their front office has to have flawless scouting and they have to be extra precise with money they spend. Meanwhile Boston and NY can just recklessly spend money and have the flexibility to get away with making re ed moves. IMO it's stupid how much harder a small market team has to work to compete with the NYs and Bostons.

Same thing with the NBA. The midlevel exception is maybe the dumbest concept relating to salary cap, as is bird rights. Since LA has spending power, they were able to use the MLE on Ron Artest in 2009 after whiffing on the first two MLE level deals they gave to small forwards (Walton and VladRad). People say Mitch Kupchak is a great GM when he's not at all. He's just GM of the one team in the NBA where he can get away with s ing out bad contract after bad contract. In the NFL, a team that had that much money locked up with players that ty results in a cap hit that severely hurts how much talent they can afford.

[Booharv]

NFL is king obviously. Most statistics still show MLB as being more popular than the NBA, whether it be World Series ratings versus NBA Finals ratings or ticket sales.

Worldwide though the NFL would be fourth by far, except for the Super Bowl I'm pretty sure no one outside the US watches the NFL. Probably the NBA, MLB, and NHL would be 1-3 worldwide. Especially since basketball is taking off in China.

[BUMP]

The Yankees are the one thing that suck about baseball. It's ironically funny to see their fans giddily brag about winning 27 world les while ignoring how ridiculous the whole thing is. When you have 18 more les then the next closest team it's pretty obvious you have a clear advantage.

[Blake]

seems to me that it's:

1. NFL
2. NCAA football
3. NBA
4. MLB
5. NHL

[J.T.]

seems to me that it's:

1. NFL
2. NCAA football
3. NBA
4. MLB
5. NHL

tbh ncaa football is only huge because it's basically the nfl's minor league. and it has a pretty much never ending crop of incoming fans.

[Zelophehad]

seems to me that it's:

1. NFL
2. NCAA football
3. NBA
4. MLB
5. NHL

If you're going to include college sports, college BB is more popular than the NHL.

[DesignatedT]

1.ncaaf
2.nba
3.ncaab
4.nfl
5.mlb
6.golf
7.tennis
8.ufc
9.nhl
10.everything else