Data
27 datasets extracted from the research tables. Each is a tidy CSV with one row per observation. The full catalogue, with columns, units, sources, confidence and caveats, is in catalog.json .
Compiled November 2026 from public sources.
Data honesty: these are research notes compiled from public sources, not official NFL or JAFA data. Numbers are copied as the sources give them. Values that are unconfirmed, conflicting or seen only in a search snippet stay in the text and in the CSV note columns, and are left out of the charts. Missing years are missing, not zero.
How the research was done .
Datasets
Super Bowl US TV audience, I (1967) to LX (2026) NFL regular-season TV averages NFL salary cap by year, 1994-2026 NFL average salary over time NFL minimum salary over time NFL league revenue over time NFL national money per team National media-rights deals by era NFL franchise values over time NFL league size over time NFL regular-season games outside the US, 2005-2026 NFL games in Japan, 1976-2005 CTE in donated brains of former NFL players (Boston University) NFL concussion settlement and safety figures Japan registered American football players over time Japan registered players by level Japan big-game attendance: single games Japan bowl attendance by era JAFA income and spending, FY2025 (April 2025 - March 2026) Japan registered players by sport, FY2024 Japanese players in North American football and the NFL's pathways Japan serious football accidents Japan TV ratings found for football NFL regular-season attendance over time Gallup: Americans' favourite sport to watch Record NFL contracts (highest average per year when signed) Japanese Wikipedia pageviews for football articles
Super Bowl US TV audience, I (1967) to LX (2026)
high confidence · 60 rows · data/super_bowl_us_audience.csv · topic: NFL history, section 09
Average US viewers for every Super Bowl, with the households rating and the average cost of a 30-second ad.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description super_bowl— Super Bowl number yearyear Calendar year the game was played network— Main US network(s) viewers_mmillions of viewers Average US viewers on the main network(s) households_ratingrating points Nielsen households rating ad_30s_usdUS dollars (nominal) Average 30-second ad note— Split or range values that are not a single number
Caveats
Single compilation source (Wikipedia, using Nielsen data); not checked game by game against Nielsen. From the 2025 season Nielsen counts more out-of-home and streaming viewing (Big Data + Panel), so 2025-26 figures are not fully comparable with older years. Ad prices are nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 60 rows)
super_bowl year network viewers_m households_rating ad_30s_usd note I 1967 CBS + NBC 51.18 Viewers 26.75 (CBS) + 24.43 (NBC); HH rating 22.6 (CBS) / 18.5 (NBC); ad $42.5K (CBS) / $37.5K (NBC) II 1968 CBS 39.12 36.8 54500 III 1969 NBC 41.66 36.0 55000 IV 1970 CBS 44.27 39.4 78200 V 1971 NBC 46.04 39.9 72500 VI 1972 CBS 56.64 44.2 86100 VII 1973 NBC 53.32 42.7 88100 VIII 1974 CBS 51.70 41.6 103500
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NFL regular-season TV averages
medium confidence · 10 rows · data/nfl_regular_season_tv.csv · topic: NFL history, section 09
Average US viewers per regular-season game: the record 1989 season, the 2016-17 dip and the 2025 season by TV package.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description seasonyear Season package— All games, or one TV package avg_viewers_mmillions of viewers Average US viewers per game note— Context and marked values source— Source for the row
Caveats
No continuous year-by-year series was found in free sources; only the seasons listed here. 2025 figures use Nielsen's Big Data + Panel method, which raised recent numbers. The 2015 figure is from a search snippet only, so it is kept in the note column. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 10 rows)
season package avg_viewers_m note source 1989 All games 19.0 Record regular-season average (tracking began in 1988) NFL.com, Jan 2026 2015 All games 17.9M [snippet: Sports Media Watch 2018] Sports Media Watch 2018 (snippet) 2016 All games 16.5 -8% on 2015 ESPN, Jan 2018 2017 All games 14.9 -9.7% on 2016 ESPN, Jan 2018 2022 Amazon Thursday Night Football 9.58 Amazon's first exclusive TNF season NFL.com, Jan 2026 2025 All games 18.7 +10% vs 2024; second only to 1989 NFL.com, Jan 2026 2025 CBS Sunday afternoon 21.25 Best on record; late national window 25.83M NFL.com; Sports Media Watch 2025 NBC Sunday Night Football 23.5 Best since 2006; top prime-time show for the 15th straight year NFL.com; Sports Media Watch
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NFL salary cap by year, 1994-2026
high confidence · 33 rows · data/nfl_salary_cap.csv · topic: NFL history, section 03
The per-team salary cap each league year since it began under the 1993 labor deal.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearleague year League year cap_usd_mUS$ millions Cap per NFL Football Operations spotrac_cap_usd_mUS$ millions Spotrac's figure, only where it differs note— —
Caveats
2010 was an uncapped year, so it has no value. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 33 rows)
year cap_usd_m spotrac_cap_usd_m note 1994 34.6 1995 37.1 1996 40.8 1997 41.5 1998 52.4 1999 57.3 2000 63.2 62.17 Sources differ 2001 67.4
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NFL average salary over time
medium confidence · 26 rows · data/nfl_average_salary.csv · topic: NFL history, section 04
Average player pay: the AP/NFLPA series for 1970-1999, Expensivity's lower figures for the late 1960s and 1970s, and the 2026 mean contract value.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — average_usdUS dollars (nominal) Average pay series— Which series the value comes from note— — flag— conflict = sources disagree; derived = arithmetic from a cited dataset
Caveats
The series count differently (bonuses, roster base); compare within a series, not across. The 2026 value is the mean average-per-year of active contracts, not cash paid in a season. Nominal dollars. No median series by decade exists in free sources. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 26 rows)
year average_usd series note flag 1970 41000 AP/NFLPA series 1972 45000 AP/NFLPA series 1974 56000 AP/NFLPA series 1976 78000 AP/NFLPA series 1978 100000 AP/NFLPA series 1980 117000 AP/NFLPA series 1982 157000 AP/NFLPA series 1984 279000 AP/NFLPA series USFL bidding war
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NFL minimum salary over time
medium confidence · 10 rows · data/nfl_minimum_salary.csv · topic: NFL history, section 04
Rookie (and early veteran) minimum salaries from the first labor deals and from the 2020 CBA.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — rookie_minimum_usdUS dollars — veteran_minimum_usdUS dollars Only for early deals note— — flag— derived = arithmetic from the cited term sheet
Caveats
2020-2026 values are computed from the term sheet's increases (+$100K, +$50K, then +$45K a year), not read from a published table. No values for 1971-2019 were collected. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 10 rows)
year rookie_minimum_usd veteran_minimum_usd note flag 1958 $5,000 was the players' goal, not a won minimum 1968 9000 10000 First CBA 1970 12500 13000 2020 610000 Derived from the 2020 CBA term sheet's step increases derived 2021 660000 Derived from the 2020 CBA term sheet's step increases derived 2022 705000 Derived from the 2020 CBA term sheet's step increases derived 2023 750000 Derived from the 2020 CBA term sheet's step increases derived 2024 795000 Derived from the 2020 CBA term sheet's step increases derived
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NFL league revenue over time
low confidence · 8 rows · data/nfl_league_revenue.csv · topic: NFL history, section 03
Total league revenue where a figure was found. Most years are missing; several values are estimates or snippets and sit in the note column.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — revenue_usd_bUS$ billions Only for confirmed figures measure— What the figure counts note— — flag— —
Caveats
No free year-by-year revenue series exists (Statista is paywalled; S&P Global was blocked). Only 2010 and 2025 have confirmed numbers; do not draw a trend line through them. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 8 rows)
year revenue_usd_b measure note flag 1960 TV money only $2.577M total TV money across all teams 2001 League total Roughly $7B, inferred from Statista's '+$17B since 2001' headline inferred 2006 League total About $6B [unconfirmed: Yale event-page snippet] unconfirmed 2010 8 League total About $8B; Sportico and Wikipedia agree 2020 League total Dip from COVID (no fans in 2020) 2024 League total Over $23B (+14%) [unconfirmed: S&P Global snippet; page blocked] unconfirmed 2025 23.5 Team revenue (all 32 clubs) +6%; league total reported as over $24B; 79% above MLB 2027 Target $25B goal Goodell set in 2010
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NFL national money per team
medium confidence · 6 rows · data/nfl_national_revenue_per_team.csv · topic: NFL history, section 02
Equal per-team payouts from national TV and other national revenue.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description seasonyear — usd_mUS$ millions — measure— — note— —
Caveats
TV money and total national revenue are different measures; the 2025 value is a lower bound ('more than $450M'). Sources
Preview (first 6 of 6 rows)
season usd_m measure note 1961 0.31 Per-team TV money About $310K per team under the first pooled CBS deal 2010 99.9 Per-team TV money 2019 255 Per-team TV money 2024 Per-team TV money $416M-$433M (range) 2025 450 National revenue per team Reported as more than $450M; about $14.5B in total (+~5%) 2025 453 Green Bay Packers national revenue, FY2025-26 Packers revenue $753M (60/40 national/local)
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National media-rights deals by era
medium confidence · 19 rows · data/nfl_media_rights_deals.csv · topic: NFL history, section 02
League-wide TV and streaming contracts from 1960 to the 2023-33 deals, with values as reported.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description start_yearyear — end_yearyear Blank when open-ended or not stated deal— — partners— — value_as_reported— Value in the source's words total_usd_mUS$ millions (nominal) Contract total where one is stated per_year_usd_mUS$ millions a year Where only a yearly figure is stated source— —
Caveats
Totals mix packages differently by era (some include cable, some do not); 2014-22 total counts broadcast only. 'About' and 'over' figures are kept as stated; nominal dollars. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 19 rows)
start_year end_year deal partners value_as_reported total_usd_m per_year_usd_m source 1960 1960 Teams sell TV rights separately Various $2.577M total; best team $445K, worst $117K 2.577 House SBA report 1961 1961 First pooled NFL deal after the SBA CBS $4.65M a year, about $310K per team 4.65 House SBA report 1964 1965 CBS CBS $28.2M for 2 years 28.2 Awful Announcing 1965 1969 AFL on NBC NBC $36M over 5 years (the money that kept the AFL alive) 36 Awful Announcing 1967 1967 Super Bowl I CBS, NBC $9.5M 9.5 Awful Announcing 1970 1973 CBS, NBC, plus ABC Monday Night Football CBS, NBC, ABC $156M over 4 years (CBS and NBC); ABC MNF $8M a year 156 Awful Announcing 1974 1977 Renewal $218M over 4 years 218 Awful Announcing 1978 1981 Renewal $646M over 4 years 646 Awful Announcing
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NFL franchise values over time
medium confidence · 20 rows · data/nfl_franchise_values.csv · topic: NFL history, section 02
Average team values (Forbes and Sportico), the top team, Forbes's 2026 top 10 and record sale prices.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — kind— Average value, top team, or sale price team— — value_usd_bUS$ billions (nominal) — source— — note— —
Caveats
Forbes pages were blocked (403); Forbes figures come via Quartz's write-up. Valuations are estimates by publications, not audited figures; Forbes and Sportico differ. No average-value series before 2022 was collected. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 20 rows)
year kind team value_usd_b source note 1961 Sale price Browns 0.004 House SBA report Bought for $4M 2016 Top team Cowboys Wikipedia: Forbes list First sports team above $4B 2022 Average team value (Forbes) 4.5 Quartz Cowboys top team 2023 Sale price Commanders 6.05 House SBA report Then a record 2025 Average team value (Forbes) 7.1 Quartz 2025 Average team value (Sportico) 7.13 Wikipedia: NFL 2025 Top team (Sportico) Cowboys 12.8 Wikipedia: NFL 2026 Average team value (Forbes) 9.5 Quartz +34%; all 32 at least $8B; 10 above $10B; total over $300B; 13.4x revenue (8.3x in 2022)
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NFL league size over time
high confidence · 6 rows · data/nfl_league_size.csv · topic: NFL history, section 01
Number of teams at each expansion step since 1960.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — nfl_teamsteams — afl_teamsteams Rival AFL, 1960 only change— —
Caveats
Only the steps in the research table; intermediate years (for example 1961, 1966-68 additions) are not listed as rows. Wikipedia's 'Expansion of the NFL' page does not exist, so years come from the team table on the main NFL article. Sources
Preview (first 6 of 6 rows)
year nfl_teams afl_teams change 1960 13 8 AFL begins; Cowboys 1970 26 Merger complete (AFC and NFC) 1976 28 Seahawks, Buccaneers 1995 30 Panthers, Jaguars 1999 31 Browns restored 2002 32 Texans
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NFL regular-season games outside the US, 2005-2026
high confidence · 65 rows · data/nfl_international_games.csv · topic: NFL history, section 09
Every regular-season game played abroad, with city, venue (where the research gives it), teams and attendance.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearseason — dateYYYY-MM-DD Only where the research gives it city— — country— — venue— Blank where a row lists several venues without saying which game was where teams— As listed in the source table attendancepeople Announced attendance note— —
Caveats
Attendance is set mostly by stadium capacity: international games sell out. Venues per game are missing for some London, Mexico City and Germany rows; the source table grouped them. Three 2026 games (Madrid, Munich, Mexico City) were still to be played on the compile date. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 65 rows)
year date city country venue teams attendance note 2005 2005-10-02 Mexico City Mexico Estadio Azteca 49ers–Cardinals 103467 First regular-season game outside the US 2007 2007-10-28 London UK Wembley Giants–Dolphins 81176 2008 London UK Wembley Chargers–Saints 83226 2009 London UK Wembley Patriots–Buccaneers 84254 2010 London UK Wembley Broncos–49ers 83941 2011 London UK Wembley Bears–Buccaneers 76981 2012 London UK Wembley Patriots–Rams 84004 2013 London UK Wembley Steelers–Vikings 83518
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NFL games in Japan, 1976-2005
medium confidence · 14 rows · data/nfl_games_in_japan.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 08
The 1976 Korakuen game and the 13 preseason American Bowls in Japan (1989-2005): 14 games in all.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description dateYYYY-MM-DD Local date yearyear — result— Winner first venue— — city— — attendancepeople Only where one figure is reported note— — source— —
Caveats
Crowds were found for only one game (1976); 1989 has two conflicting figures; 1990-2005 crowds were not found. All are exhibition (preseason) games; no regular-season game has been played in Asia. Tokyo Dome holds about 45,000-55,000 for football [?], so sold-out games would be in that range; not used as data. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 14 rows)
date year result venue city attendance note source 1976-08-16 1976 Cardinals 20, Chargers 10 (Mainichi Star Bowl) Korakuen Stadium Tokyo 38000 Light rain (JAFA). NFL.com and Yahoo Sports put the crowd at about 38,000-40,000. First NFL game outside North America. JAFA year page 1976; NFL.com 1989-08-06 1989 Rams 16, 49ers 13 (OT) Tokyo Dome Tokyo 43,000 sold out (Washington Post, search result) vs more than 45,000 (UPI) [conflict] Washington Post (search result); UPI 1990-08-02 1990-08-05 1990 Broncos 10, Seahawks 7 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found JAFA 1990 page; en.wikipedia American Bowl 1991-08-04 1991 Dolphins 19, Raiders 17 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found JAFA; en.wikipedia 1992-08-02 1992 Oilers 34, Cowboys 23 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found. JAFA lists Oilers vs Cowboys; the score was read from the layout of English Wikipedia's table, though the Japan research found the game missing from that list [conflict] JAFA 1992 page; en.wikipedia American Bowl 1993-08-01 1993 Saints 28, Eagles 16 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found JAFA; en.wikipedia 1994-08-07 1994 Vikings 17, Chiefs 9 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found en.wikipedia 1995-08-06 1995 Broncos 24, 49ers 10 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Attendance not found en.wikipedia
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CTE in donated brains of former NFL players (Boston University)
high confidence · 3 rows · data/nfl_cte_brain_bank.csv · topic: NFL history, section 06
Share of former NFL players' donated brains diagnosed with CTE in three published studies.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description year_publishedyear — journal— — cte_casesbrains Diagnosed with CTE brains_studiedbrains — share_pct% As published
Caveats
Donated brains, often from families who already suspected disease: these shares do not measure how common CTE is among all players. CTE can only be diagnosed after death. Sources
Preview (first 3 of 3 rows)
year_published journal cte_cases brains_studied share_pct 2014 76 79 96 2017 JAMA 110 111 99 2026 BMJ 315 338 93.2
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NFL concussion settlement and safety figures
high confidence · 10 rows · data/nfl_concussion_measures.csv · topic: NFL history, section 06
Concussion settlement totals (as of Nov 2, 2026) and recent safety measures.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description measure— — as_ofdate or season — value— — unit— — note— — source— —
Caveats
The 2025 season's total concussion count was not found in the pages opened. Settlement figures change over time; these are a snapshot. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 10 rows)
measure as_of value unit note source Retired players registered 2026-11-02 20564 players NFL Concussion Settlement site Claim packages submitted 2026-11-02 4663 claims NFL Concussion Settlement site Claims found payable 2026-11-02 2228 claims NFL Concussion Settlement site Total awarded 2026-11-02 1738767412 US dollars NFL Concussion Settlement site Baseline Assessment Program appointments attended 2026-11-02 17542 appointments NFL Concussion Settlement site Payouts to date 2021-06 US dollars About $800M by June 2021 ESPN 2021 Settlement announced 2013-08-29 765000000 US dollars Covering more than 18,000 retirees; cap later removed Wikipedia: Concussions in American football In-game concussion evaluations 2025 season 538 evaluations Record NFL 2025 injury data
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Japan registered American football players over time
medium confidence · 10 rows · data/japan_registered_players.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 07
Teams and registered players from JAFA's history pages and from JAFA's answers to the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) survey of national federations.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear Calendar or fiscal year year_label— As written in the source teamsteams — playersplayers Only for values confirmed in an opened source series— Which count the row comes from note— — flag— —
Caveats
Two counting methods (JAFA's own history pages and the SSF survey) are mixed; read it as a trend, not exact year-on-year change. Years between the rows are missing, not zero. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 10 rows)
year year_label teams players series note flag 1934 1934 3 66 JAFA history page Tokyo student federation 1992 1992 424 20683 JAFA history page Peak 1995 FY1995 JSPO report 26,500 members: counts all JAFA members, not only players conflict 1996 1996 454 16682 JAFA history page -10.8% on the year 2000 2000 422 15649 JAFA history page 2010 2010 / FY2010 391 19552 JAFA 2010 page (teams); SSF FY2010 (players) 2020 FY2020 SSF via Flag Football Global 15,756 [?]: only from Flag Football Global's summary of SSF data unconfirmed 2022 FY2022 SSF via Flag Football Global 13,809 [?]: only from Flag Football Global's summary of SSF data unconfirmed
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Japan registered players by level
medium confidence · 10 rows · data/japan_players_by_level.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 07
Breakdowns by school or adult level where JAFA's history pages give them.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear — level— — teamsteams — playersplayers — note— — source— —
Caveats
No yearly breakdown by level after 2010 was found. The 2022 figure is approximate (Nikkei's first paragraph). Sources
Preview (first 8 of 10 rows)
year level teams players note source 1992 Junior high 4 173 JAFA 1992 page 1992 High school 119 5120 JAFA 1992 page 1992 College 221 11628 JAFA 1992 page 1992 Corporate 80 3762 JAFA 1992 page 2000 High school 2698 JAFA 2000 page 2000 College 9331 JAFA 2000 page 2000 Corporate 3620 JAFA 2000 page 2001 High school 2280 High-school low point JAFA 2007 page
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Japan big-game attendance: single games
medium confidence · 41 rows · data/japan_big_game_attendance.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 08
Announced crowds for named games: the Rice Bowl, Koshien Bowl, corporate finals, US-college all-star games and the X League.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description yearyear Year the game was played (Rice Bowl: January) event— — venue— — attendancepeople Only for single, unmarked figures note— — source— —
Caveats
Announced crowds, mostly rounded. Only the years the research names individually; see the era table for the typical ranges. The two JAFA sources disagree on the January 2025 Rice Bowl (17,694 vs 17,885). Sources
Preview (first 8 of 41 rows)
year event venue attendance note source 1934 First official game Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium 15,000 (JAFA English page) vs about 20,000 (JAFA 50-year history, FISU) [conflict] JAFA; FISU 1938 East-West student all-stars 25000 About 25,000 JAFA 1938 page 1947 Koshien Bowl Koshien Stadium 700 First Koshien Bowl JAFA 1947 page 1955 Rice Bowl 40000 JAFA results 1958 US service all-star Rice Bowl National Stadium 78,000 [?] single fan-run source luckyshow.org 1959 Rice Bowl National Stadium 3000 Low JAFA results 1974 Rice Bowl National Stadium 30000 JAFA results 1979 Japan Bowl (US college all-stars) National Stadium 55000 With Joe Montana JAFA 1978 page
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Japan bowl attendance by era
medium confidence · 21 rows · data/japan_bowl_attendance_by_era.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 08
Typical crowd ranges by era for the Rice Bowl, the Koshien Bowl and the corporate final.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description event— — era_startyear — era_endyear — format— — venue— — typical_lowpeople Low end of the typical range typical_highpeople High end of the typical range highs_and_lows— Named years
Caveats
Ranges summarise JAFA's yearly results tables; individual years can fall outside them (for example 40,000 in 1955). Announced crowds, mostly rounded. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 21 rows)
event era_start era_end format venue typical_low typical_high highs_and_lows Rice Bowl 1948 1958 East-West college all-stars Nile Kinnick / Jingu, Korakuen 5000 15000 40,000 in 1955 Rice Bowl 1959 1983 East-West college all-stars Mostly National Stadium 7000 30000 3,000 (1959); 30,000 (1974) Rice Bowl 1984 1991 College champion vs corporate champion National Stadium 28000 52000 48,000 (1988), 52,000 (1991) Rice Bowl 1992 2001 College champion vs corporate champion Tokyo Dome 30000 56000 56,000 (1992, record); 54,000 (1993, 1995) Rice Bowl 2002 2020 College champion vs corporate champion Tokyo Dome 25000 36000 35,750 (2011); 25,059 (2012) Rice Bowl 2021 2021 College champion vs corporate champion (COVID limits) Tokyo Dome 8851 8851 Rice Bowl 2022 2026 Corporate vs corporate Tokyo Dome 14610 20214 14,610 (2022); 20,214 (2026) Koshien Bowl 1947 1963 College final Koshien Stadium 700 5000 Many years not recorded; 700 (1947)
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JAFA income and spending, FY2025 (April 2025 - March 2026)
high confidence · 13 rows · data/jafa_revenue_fy2025.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 02
The national federation's revenue lines from its FY2025 accounts.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description line— — parent— Line this item belongs to amount_jpy_m¥ millions — share_of_revenue_pct% Share of total revenue (research arithmetic from the accounts)
Caveats
Sub-lines do not add up to their parents; the rest is 'other' lines not itemised in the research. Shares were computed from the accounts, not published by JAFA. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 13 rows)
line parent amount_jpy_m share_of_revenue_pct Total revenue 298.6 Total expenses 307.9 Deficit 9.25 Subsidies and grants Total revenue 106.5 36 Japan Sport Council (JSC) Subsidies and grants 42.8 JOC Subsidies and grants 53.4 National government Subsidies and grants 6.3 Business revenue Total revenue 155.6
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Japan registered players by sport, FY2024
medium confidence · 7 rows · data/japan_sport_participation.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 07
American football's registered players next to other team sports in Japan.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description sport— — governing_body— — registered_playersplayers — multiple_of_footballx About how many times football's count (research arithmetic) note— — source— —
Caveats
Federations count registration differently; multiples are approximate. Some rows come from Flag Football Global's summary rather than the SSF table itself. Sources
Preview (first 7 of 7 rows)
sport governing_body registered_players multiple_of_football note source Soccer JFA 868550 63 838,657 by JFA's own count SSF 2024; Flag Football Global Soft-ball baseball (軟式野球) 580741 43 SSF 2024 Basketball (excl. 3x3) JBA 580326 43 Flag Football Global, citing JBA Rugby JRFU 90240 7 SSF 2024 Handball 74562 5.6 Flag Football Global, citing SSF American football JAFA 13387 1 Tackle and flag combined SSF 2024 US high-school boys' tackle football (2024-25), for comparison NFHS 1029588 US figure Flag Football Global, citing NCAA/NFHS data
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Japanese players in North American football and the NFL's pathways
medium confidence · 9 rows · data/japanese_players_north_america.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 06
Japanese players who reached the CFL, NFL camps, practice squads, the NFL's development leagues or a top US college.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description player— Family name first for players usually known that way position— — path— — yearyear Key year milestone— — source— —
Caveats
Not a complete list: US college walk-ons and other camp invitees were not researched. Sources disagree on who was the first Japanese player in an NFL game (1996 trio vs Kawaguchi, 2002). Sources
Preview (first 8 of 9 rows)
player position path year milestone source Les Maruo CFL (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) First Japanese player in the CFL Wikipedia: Taku Lee; ja.wikipedia 李卓 Takeru Yamasaki CFL (BC Lions) Second Japanese CFL player Wikipedia: Taku Lee Abe Takuro, Ikenoue Takahiro, Ito Shigemasa World League (later NFL Europe); 1996 Tokyo American Bowl 1996 First Japanese players in the World League; JAFA calls them the first Japanese players in an NFL game [conflict] JAFA 1996 page Kawaguchi Masafumi LB NFL Europe (Amsterdam, 7 seasons); Packers, Cowboys and 49ers camps 2002 Played special teams for the 49ers in the 2002 Osaka preseason game; Wikipedia calls him the first Japanese player in an NFL preseason game [conflict] ja.wikipedia 河口正史 Yamada Shinzo LB XFL, NFL Europe, Arena league; Buccaneers camp ja.wikipedia 山田晋三 Kinoshita Noriaki WR Atlanta Falcons 2007-2008 Rookie free agent 2007; practice squad 2008 under the international program ja.wikipedia 木下典明 Taku Lee RB Keio, Obic, NFL IPP camp (2021), CFL Montreal (3rd round, 2021), back to Obic 2022 2021 Third Japanese CFL player Wikipedia: Taku Lee Kansei Matsuzawa K Hocking College, Hawaii; IPP class of 2026; Raiders practice squad 2026 Consensus All-American 2025; Raiders practice squad as of Aug 31, 2026; also drafted by CFL Saskatchewan Wikipedia: Kansei Matsuzawa; NFL Japan 2025-12-15
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Japan serious football accidents
medium confidence · 14 rows · data/japan_serious_accidents.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 05
Deaths, serious head injuries and other serious accidents from JAFA data and Japanese research.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description period— — scope— — measure— — countcases (or % where stated) — note— — source— —
Caveats
Periods and scopes differ by source; the rows are not a single time series. No national injury totals by year after 2010 were found; JAFA's annual safety committee reports are not online. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 14 rows)
period scope measure count note source 1981-1989 Nationwide Deaths 22 JAFA data Yomiuri 2024-10-01 1991-2003 Kanto Concussions 235 Fukuda 2020, citing Fujitani et al. 1991-2003 Kanto Serious head injuries 20 Fukuda 2020 1991-2003 Kanto Acute subdural hematomas (of the serious head injuries) 18 Fukuda 2020 1991-2003 Kanto Deaths (of the serious head injuries) 3 Fukuda 2020 1991-2010 Kanto games Head and neck share of game injuries (%) 16.8 Fukuda 2020 2006-2026 Reported to JAFA Serious head injuries (bleeding in the skull) 38 Cluster in August, among first- and second-year players and on small teams; up since 2020-22 JAFA alert 2026-08-25 2006-2026 Reported to JAFA Fatal serious head injuries 4 JAFA alert 2026-08-25
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Japan TV ratings found for football
medium confidence · 3 rows · data/japan_tv_ratings.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 08
The only published Video Research (Kanto) ratings found for football programmes in Japan.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description programme— — dateYYYY-MM — broadcaster— — rating_pct% (Video Research, Kanto) — source— —
Caveats
No rating was found for the Rice Bowl, the Koshien Bowl, NFL games on NHK or the Super Bowl in Japan. DAZN, Nittele G+ and NFL Game Pass publish no Japan audience or subscriber figures. Sources
Preview (first 3 of 3 rows)
programme date broadcaster rating_pct source First Japan Bowl (US college all-stars), live 1 p.m. 1976-01 Nippon TV 11.4 JAFA 1975 page Kansai vs Kyoto college game, recording 1977-11 MBS 7.4 ja.wikipedia 関西学生アメリカンフットボール連盟 Eyeshield 21 anime, first episode 2005-04 TV Tokyo 7.5 Wikipedia: Eyeshield 21 (citing Video Research)
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NFL regular-season attendance over time
medium confidence · 12 rows · data/nfl_season_attendance.csv · topic: NFL history, section 09
League-wide regular-season attendance totals and per-game averages.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description seasonyear — teamsteams — total_attendancepeople — per_game_avgpeople — note— — flag— derived = research arithmetic
Caveats
Pro Football Reference was read through Internet Archive snapshots; its 1960-1990 snapshots had no table, so 1960 and 1989 are rounded Wikipedia figures. Wikipedia gives a different overall average (67,591). Sources
Preview (first 8 of 12 rows)
season teams total_attendance per_game_avg note flag 1934 11 701884 1940 10 1278599 1950 13 2117747 27000 About 27,000 a game over 78 games derived 1960 13 3000000 About 3M (Rozelle's first year) 1989 28 17000000 About 17M (Rozelle's last year) 2000 31 16351740 65900 About 65,900 over 248 games derived 2010 32 17140859 67000 About 67,000 over 256 games derived 2019 32 17040039 66600 About 66,600 derived
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Gallup: Americans' favourite sport to watch
medium confidence · 11 rows · data/gallup_favorite_sport.csv · topic: NFL history, section 09
Share naming each sport as their favourite to watch, in the Gallup readings the research collected.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description year— Reading date as given football_pct% — baseball_pct% — basketball_pct% — soccer_pct% — note— —
Caveats
Football has been first in all 23 Gallup readings since 1972 (average 38% in season, 32% out of season); only some readings are listed here. Other polls ask different questions (favourite sport vs to watch vs most popular), so they are not mixed in. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 11 rows)
year football_pct baseball_pct basketball_pct soccer_pct note 1937 34 First Gallup question; baseball led. Football 23% [snippet: 2024 Gallup page]; soccer <1% 1948 Football 2nd, baseball 1st 1960 Football 2nd, baseball 1st 1972 38 19 Football overtakes baseball 1985 28 Low 1997 17 Basketball high (Jordan era) 2001 28 Low 2006-2007 43 High
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Record NFL contracts (highest average per year when signed)
medium confidence · 22 rows · data/nfl_record_contracts.csv · topic: NFL history, section 04
Each contract that set a new high for average annual value, 1991-2026.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description year_signedyear — player— — apy_usd_mUS$ millions a year Average per year note— —
Caveats
Derived by the research from nflverse/Over The Cap contract history (largest APY signed in each year that set a new high). Nominal dollars. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 22 rows)
year_signed player apy_usd_m note 1991 Dan Marino 4.09 1993 Troy Aikman 6.71 First year of free agency 1995 Drew Bledsoe 6.74 1997 Brett Favre 7.87 1998 Steve Young 8.2 1999 Deion Sanders 11.25 First non-QB record in the series 2001 Brett Favre 11.5 2004 Peyton Manning 14 7 years / $98M
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Japanese Wikipedia pageviews for football articles
high confidence · 120 rows · data/ja_wikipedia_pageviews.csv · topic: Football in Japan, section 08
Yearly human pageviews of football articles on Japanese Wikipedia, with other sports for comparison.
Columns and units
Column Unit Description article_ja— Japanese article title article_en— English gloss yearyear — period_note— — viewspageviews Human users, all platforms
Caveats
Wikipedia traffic falls across almost every article, so compare shares between articles, not raw totals. 2017, 2020 and 2022 were not pulled; 2026 covers January to October only. Spikes follow news (the 2018 Nihon University scandal, Matsuzawa in 2026), not only seasons. Sources
Preview (first 8 of 120 rows)
article_ja article_en year period_note views アメリカンフットボール American football 2016 208093 アメリカンフットボール American football 2018 252178 アメリカンフットボール American football 2019 230612 アメリカンフットボール American football 2021 140261 アメリカンフットボール American football 2023 140930 アメリカンフットボール American football 2024 110873 アメリカンフットボール American football 2025 99859 アメリカンフットボール American football 2026 partial year (Jan-Oct) 75659
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