With three London games in the pipeline for 2023, the NFL is successfully developing a young, highly receptive UK fanbase.

For many of us working in the sports marketing game right now targeting, engaging with and ultimately, ensnaring the all-powerful Generation Z fan, is a constant theme.

With Gen-Z set to have an estimated combined spending power of $3.0 trillion by 2030, it has become increasingly obvious to the power brokers in the world’s biggest sporting properties that unlocking this audience is the key to the future of their business. 

But it takes more than a fun TikTok account and the support of Drake to meaningfully connect with this most enigmatic and behaviour-shifting generation. 

In the UK, the NFL are firmly on the offence, courting a younger audience and reaping the benefits. 

It’s a fascinating case study of how to grow a sport in a different market, tap into wider cultural passion points and therefore, engage a younger audience.

So when did the UK’s love affair with the NFL begin?

The sport soared in popularity in the 1980s in the UK, at a time when we were seemingly lapped up all things Americana. 

For many 80s kids growing up at this time, NFL stars such as Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Walter Payton and UK tabloid favourite William "The Refrigerator" Perry were as much part of our cultural diet as Michael Jackson, Hulk Hogan, Madonna, LL Cool J and Michael J.Fox. 

With (actual) football in England troubled by hooliganism and crumbling infrastructure, the glitz and glamour of the gridiron felt exciting and appealing. 

A highlights show on Channel 4 beamed this exciting, colourful game into our combo TV/VCR sets. 

A number of Brits got hooked on the game at this time, and you will see these same people now decades later, at the NFL London games wearing their Dolphins or Bears or 49ers jerseys, regardless of which teams are playing, because, for a lot of these fans, their love and passion for the sport is less about tribalism and more about nostalgia. 

While the game struggled for attention and eyeballs in the UK as the Premier League boomed in the 1990s, and with the London Monarchs experiment ultimately failing by the end of the decade, this hardcore bleary-eyed tribe of 80s kids kept the fire burning, watching NFL games into the early hours and sustaining a cult following on these shores.

When the NFL returned to London in 2007, nearly 82,000 fans packed out Wembley Stadium to watch a low scoring game between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins.

Many games have followed in London amidst open discussions and lobbying for a new franchise in the Capital, with Fulham FC and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan making no secret of his wish to have both his teams in the same city.

In 2019, the NFL estimated it had 13 million UK fans - four million of which would be categorised as avid fans. 

That number has certainly increased in the last four years and October saw a whopping 86,215 fans (a record for NFL International Series games) at Wembley again to watch the Denver Broncos beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Three more London games will follow in 2023, with designated ‘home teams’, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans locked in.

Look closely and you will see a shift taking place.

The NFL’s younger audience is on the rise in the UK, hooked in by a marketing and content strategy unashamedly tailored to them.

As NFL UK general manager, Henry Hodgson recently told SportsPro.  “Our strategy has been to make it as accessible as possible to every demographic, but especially a young audience. We’ve really focused on social, that kind of top of funnel, [and thinking about] how do we make the sport interesting without people necessarily having to understand every detail of the roles and who people are.”

The message is clear.

The NFL love their hardcore fans in the UK - sure - but they understand that the future of the game’s growth here rests on reeling in the younger - and at present - more casual fan.

James Hamlin, a fractional CMO and self-confessed UK NFL veteran says: “When you go to the games in London you definitely see a lot of younger people now. It makes sense when you consider that the NFL have spent 15 years coming to the UK, and every time they come here they are laying bricks for the future. They activate in schools, at grassroots level and they put the work in, so it is starting to take effect.”

Fuelling a receptive fanbase

For sponsors, NFL fans in the UK are an ideal tribe for campaigns and activations.

Data gathered from Decoding - MKTG’s survey of more than 25,000 sports fans - shows us that NFL fans here are not just more likely to be highly receptive to sponsorship activity than the average UK sports fan (33% vs 18%), but they also over-index on passion points such gaming and music (particularly hip-hop).

According GWI research, UK NFL fans over index against the UK average across a host of categories from purchasing official merchandise (35% v 28%), to signing up for official emails (28% vs 20%).

For George Davis, a colleague of mine who also happens to be a huge Tennessee Titans fan from Enfield, North London, much of this can be credited to the league’s social media strategy.

Davis says: “The NFL is far ahead of other governing bodies and rights holders on social media. They interact more with partners and players. They seem to leverage the fun elements of the platforms they are on more and do things like retweet CBS' coverage of the game, or a player’s post match tweet.”

“It feels a lot less corporate and stringent than official football accounts from the UK for example, and as a fan, I appreciate it.”

This lighter touch on social is consistent with the game’s global growth plan too.

Martin Del Palacio, a journalist and broadcaster for Mundo NFL - the league’s Spanish language digital platform, adds: “The NFL are keen to appeal to the occasional fan. Growing the sport is the highest priority, so while it is vital to have the news for the more serious fans, we have license to have fun on social media and tap into memes and culture to broaden appeal.”

Internet-friendly, sport as entertainment

There are many more factors which make the NFL so Gen-Z friendly.

While the Premier League were engaged in a legal battle with YouTube over copyright infringement, the NFL was embracing the platform, which is the most used network by Gen-Z adults.

When the tech giant signed a $14bn (£11.6bn) deal to broadcast the “Sunday Ticket” package of games, it was hailed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as crucial for building the ‘next generation of fans’.

Perhaps most significantly, the NFL and its various franchises are comfortable in their own skin as vehicles for entertainment.

American football taps into elements of culture far more easily than British football clubs for example, which are more like institutions wrapped up in regional identity and history.

Football club owners have learned the hard way that traditions can’t easily be changed in the name of chasing new fans.

Consequently, the NFL works tactically with celebrities and influencers which deliver cultural relevance.

NFL stars themselves are keenly aware of the role they must play in the spectacle, and will often over-deliver on media obligations.

For a Gen-Z audience drawn to storytelling, personalities and drifting between passion points, the NFL traverses the nexus perfectly.

When Rihanna performs at the Super Bowl LVII, she will reach an audience far greater than fans of the sport and take the NFL brand into territories the game itself simply does not.

A new generation of fans, a new generation of quarterbacks…

The NFL’s courting of a younger, diverse audience in the UK has coincided with the emergence of an exciting new generation of star quarterbacks.

Super Bowl LVII will be the first in history to serve up a showdown between two Black starting quarterbacks: Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes - the Kansas City Chiefs’ talisman who many have tipped for greatness.

“You presently have a bunch of young, exciting and hugely marketable quarterbacks coming through, replacing the old guard.,” says Hamlin.

”Guys like Mahomes and Hurts but also Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow have a greater appeal with a younger audience than the likes of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers who are nearing the end of their careers. It just feels like a really exciting time for the sport.”

Chasing a younger audience is essential for most sporting organisations and bodies interested in preserving their future and delivering for sponsors.

The NFL playbook, while not easily replicated, shows how it can be done effectively.