Even when it comes to meaningless games, the NFL trumps everything else, as the 6.9 ratings for the hall of fame game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat viewing numbers of the 2015 Stanley Cup finale among other major sporting events.
Just a preseason game, with the Vikings starting quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, playing just one drive. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t even make an appearance. That’s how “important” that game is. But football is taking over, and is generating an almost unexplainable hunger for anything from the NFL brand, even if it’s a pre-preseason game that means absolutely nothing.
The 6.9 rating is a higher overnight rating than Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 of both the NBA Eastern and Western Conference finals, the Indy 500 and Game 1 of both the American League and National League Championship Series.
So all those who keep trying to push for the league to shorten the preseason? That’s not going to happen. It means loss of revenue, and as these numbers clearly show, the NFL can generate revenue out of thin air. People sit down and watch NFL games regardless of who is on and if the games actually make a difference.