NBA vs NFL: Which is the better sports league in the USA?

Great players make a name for themselves by competing against the best, and significant leagues provide that in spades. The NBA vs NFL are two of the most popular professional sports leagues in the USA, hands down. With the NFL being 101 years old and the NBA being 75 years old, they are two historic leagues dominating the US market today.

But even though it is somewhat difficult to claim one league is better, the NFL still seems to be the bigger league, especially considering various financial and viewer-based measures. After all, it is said, baseball is America's pastime, but football is America's game. Does this mean that one is better than the other? This would be a question of opinion. Join us as we discuss some of these NBA vs NFL ratings, salaries, and much more.

The National Basketball Association

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Football

The National Basketball Association has 30 teams, including one from Canada, Toronto Raptors, and 29 from the United States. After the NFL and the MLB, it is the third-richest professional sports league in North America. After the league's regular season, the NBA playoffs are played to decide the champion.

The NBA is different; the NFL is America's sport, but basketball is rising to the top three sports globally in terms of viewership, making it more widely accessible than football globally but maybe not in the US.

The National Football League

The National Football League, which consists of 32 teams, is the world's top rank of American football. These teams are split evenly between the American Football Conference, AFC, and the National Football Conference, NFC.

Being one of North America's top professional sports leagues, the NFL is very popular in the United States. People also enjoy playing at real money online casinos in Canada. By revenue, it is also the most prosperous professional sports league.

Profile summary

NBA vs NFL popularity

One may argue that popularity is a valuable indicator of whether something is better than the other. Generally, something is a better choice if more people prefer it over the alternative. Regarding the two associations, we may compare which sport has more viewership. In terms of viewership, the football league reigns supreme, and it's not even close. For instance, it accounted for a stunning 75 of the top 100 most viewed TV broadcasts of 2021.

However, the NBA has recently seen a surge in popularity, and the playoffs are a significant source of revenue for the league. In four games, the basketball association defeated the Cavaliers in 2017. The NFL still maintains a vast 52% edge over the basketball association, but thanks to the latter's recent growth surge, the gap has been cut in half. Naturally, the NBA's sponsors would benefit financially from this.

Despite this, football league players earn more money than basketball players. The national football league players make roughly twice as much on average $14 million as basketball players. In addition, the league spends almost twice as much on the players to draw larger television audiences and increase income.

NBA vs NFL net worth and salary

Since the football league roster is far more extensive than the other, it must further diversify their compensation structure. The NBA only has 15, compared to the 53 players on an NFL squad. Well, if there is a discussion about NBA vs NFL's best players, the following two ought to be mentioned: NBA's Nikola Jokic and NFL's Patrick Mahomes.

Nikola Jokic tops the NBA with a deal valued at $270 million, while Patrick Mahomes has the richest current contract in the NFL at $450 million. However, Jokic's contract lasts five years, while Mahomes' is ten years.

If Jokic and Mahomes had contracts of the same duration, Jokic would earn nearly $90 million more than Mahomes. Only 8 NFL players make more than $40 million a season, compared to 18 NBA players, and so are their net worth. Besides, when comparing the two current earnings, the football league earns $11 billion while the other earns $10 billion.

Due to more viewers, the NFL earns more money. Of course, you might blame the NBA's increased scheduled games on more income and viewers, but fans still find it impressive. Keep in mind that even though, at the end of the day, NBA players may earn more, it is not due to a disparity in viewership or income but the roster size.

NBA vs NFL contracts

One of the world's largest and most successful sports leagues is the football league, and the other is basketball. With some basketball players receiving contracts worth more than $200 million in recent seasons, both leagues have experienced a significant rise in salary and total agreements in recent years. Additionally, the football league has a bigger wage cap than the basketball association, although this does not necessarily translate into higher player salaries.

Currently, the top packages provided by the two leagues have several characteristics. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs makes around $45 million, thus making him the highest-paid player in the NFL as of 2022. He is the only player who will make at least $40 million next season, with Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys coming in second and third, respectively.

How much do NBA players make per year compared to NFL players?

There are many more football players than basketball players, so each piece of the NFL revenue pie will always be smaller than the NBA slice. Needless to say, in the NFL league, revenues are split between 1,696 total players, while in the NBA, between 450 players.

The total revenue is often estimated to be $8 billion. However, divided among 1,696 players means that each NFL player receives $4.717 million yearly, while an NBA player receives $17.8 million given the same revenue.

Just by looking at the NBA vs NFL data, it is clear that the NFL is more significant than the NBA. However, as the NBA continues to advance, the NFL's crown may come under some pressure. Undoubtedly, the NBA is catching up to the NFL. Nevertheless, basketball is a sport that is played much more widely, and the NBA has top-tier athletes from nations like Australia, France, and Nigeria.

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Full name	The National Basketball Association
Chief Executive officer	Adam Silver
Number of teams	30
Current champion	Golden State Warriors (as of 2022)
Headquarters	New York, United States
Founded	6 June 1946, New York, United States

Full name	The National Football League
Commissioner	Roger Goodell
Number of teams	32
Current champion	Los Angeles Rams (as of 2022)
Headquarters	New York, United States
Founded	17 September 1920, Canton, Ohio, United States