Football remains the top spectator sport in America. Gallup polled adults in February 2024 and found 41 percent call it their favorite to watch.
Orion Wilcox mapped where NFL players come from by state, calculating players per million residents using Sports Reference rosters from the 2023–24 season and Census population data. The geographic pattern shows clear regional differences.
Louisiana leads with 15 players per million. Mississippi has 14.5, Alabama 12.7, Georgia 12.6. The highest-ranked states are in the South. Iowa lands at 12.5, which looks unusual given how far it sits from the rest of the top tier both geographically and culturally.
Rank
State
Players per million
1
Louisiana
15.0
2
Mississippi
14.5
3
Alabama
12.7
4
Georgia
12.6
5
Iowa
12.5
6
Hawaii
7.5
7
Florida
7.5
8
District of Columbia
8.7
9
Maryland
6.8
10
South Carolina
6.1
11
Nebraska
6.1
12
Delaware
6.1
13
Tennessee
6.2
14
Ohio
6.2
15
Indiana
5.9
16
Texas
5.7
17
North Carolina
5.7
18
Utah
5.5
19
Michigan
5.4
20
Wyoming
5.2
21
Pennsylvania
5.1
22
Illinois
4.8
23
Wisconsin
4.8
24
Virginia
4.3
25
Missouri
4.4
26
California
4.5
27
Oklahoma
3.3
28
Kansas
3.4
29
South Dakota
3.4
30
Kentucky
3.6
31
Nevada
3.9
32
Colorado
2.6
33
North Dakota
2.6
34
Minnesota
3.0
35
Oregon
2.8
36
West Virginia
2.8
37
Alaska
2.7
38
Arizona
2.9
39
Idaho
2.2
40
Washington
2.2
41
Arkansas
2.3
42
Massachusetts
2.0
43
Montana
1.8
44
New York
1.5
45
Connecticut
1.6
46
Rhode Island
0.9
47
Maine
0.7
48
New Hampshire
0.7
49
Vermont
0.0
50
New Mexico
0.5
Weather explains part of the southern advantage. Year-round outdoor practice means more field time and longer youth league seasons without snow interruptions. But culture matters just as much. Small-town Friday night games regularly fill entire stadiums. High school programs get real budgets. College recruiters maintain networks throughout the region.
Iowa ranks high for different reasons. The state has devoted college football fans (just attend a Hawkeyes or Cyclones game to see), but with only 3.2 million residents total, it doesn’t take many NFL players to push the per-capita number up alongside states with much larger populations.
