The NFL is dominating world sport and now it’s almost unfair

The NFL was already flying, but now it’s truly the envy of every sporting code in the world after a barely believable 12 months.

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America’s National Football League appeared to have it all.

Broadcast deals worth an estimated $15 billion a year - almost triple the English Premier League which is the next highest at $5.7 billion.

A once-in-a-generation superstar in Patrick Mahomes who immediately took over Face of the League duties when Tom Brady finally retired, can do things with his arm and legs Brady can only dream about and might end up challenging him for GOAT status.

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A regular season where almost every game matters because the schedule contains just 17 games and parity the EPL would kill for means most remain in the hunt until the final month.

And now it has Taylor Swift too.

If you needed any more proof as to why the NFL is the world’s best sports league - and better than it’s ever been before - it was when a record 124 million people tuned in to watch Swift watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce win his third championship alongside Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes is an unbelievable talent to watch. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s love story has made the NFL even more compelling. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

After watching other codes around the world spend years and huge sums creating women’s leagues in an attempt to win over female audiences the NFL took a Swifter route and drew them in with the biggest star on the planet.

Having Swift cheer and dance in a corporate box for 13 games last season earned the NFL an estimated $500 million and importantly exposed its game to millions of people who would have never seen it otherwise.

Kelce, whose personal jersey sales skyrocketed, signed a new two-year contract in the wake of the fairytale, guaranteeing he and Swift aren’t going away any time soon.

Taylor Swift watches the Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Swift certainly didn’t need Kelce’s help to achieve popularity on a level we might not have seen since the Beatles, but some of the more cynical stars from the film and music industry must surely be watching how she’s benefited from the exposure to the NFL fanbase.

Which could mean even more famous faces in the stands in coming years.

But all those extra eyeballs don’t mean much if you don’t have the product to convert them - and that’s where the NFL has an undeniable edge.

The players might wear pads and rule changes in recent years may have taken out some of the biggest hits, but the physicality remains unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else.

Where other sports have players that are more well-rounded, capable of doing almost everything required of other positions, the NFL is a league of specialists.

NFL superstars like Tyreek Hill are undoubtedly some of the world’s greatest athletes. Megan Briggs/Getty Images/AFP

Your sole job might just be to block. Or to run routes and catch the ball. Or make tackles. You’d never argue an American football player has the skill, endurance or versatility of players from the other top codes but the limits result in consistent excellence.

We touched on it earlier but the structure of the season is spot on.

The divisional model is the envy of other leagues because it builds in six guaranteed do-or-die matchups into each season.

Pick any division and you’ll see the purest of rivalries. Whether that’s Cowboys-Eagles, Packers-Bears, Falcons-Saints or Steelers-Ravens, you’re guaranteed to see two locker rooms and fan bases that absolutely hate each other week after week.

While the likes of Mahomes and Kelce have crossover appeal, the league doesn’t rely on superstar talent to drive interest like some other leagues do.

It might be the large 53-man squads, or the helmets that maintain a degree of anonymity, or just the single-minded devotion fans have for their teams, but you don’t see the same kind of athlete worship you do in other sports and that’s a strength of the game.

If Kelce finishes his career on another team you won’t see Chiefs fans converting. And they might stop listening to Tay Tay too.

Originally published as The NFL is dominating world sport and now it’s almost unfair