NFL Preseason Ratings Jump, Adding Fuel to 18-Game Season Argument

Despite TV competition from the Olympics, the NFL preseason scored its own gold medal.

Total ratings were up—albeit slightly—from last season. The preseason numbers jumped despite a tough Week 1, which battled the final stretch of the Paris Games and inclement weather from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game that kicks off the exhibition season. The total slate of games averaged 1.93 million viewers, up from 1.91 million in 2023, an increase of roughly 1%. 

Despite the small jump, any ratings increase sends yet another signal to commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL owners that extending the regular season to 18 games in the near future is a solid idea.

Preseason schedules have already become leaner as the NFL schedule expanded to the current 17 games, with its slate falling from four to three in 2021. (The shift also accounted for the additional toll taken on players’ bodies.) Goodell has speculated an 18-game season would reduce the preseason down to two games, which players have voiced mixed opinions about. One argument against reducing preseason games is it makes it harder for players battling for the final roster spots to properly audition. 

But the recent ratings uptick shows the audience for the NFL is as hungry as ever—and only adds to the argument that the league can afford to do away with another preseason game without it impacting business.