This is no shock to anyone. The Seattle Seahawks have more fans now than they did last year. It happens to every team that wins a championship.
But according to new research of attendance, TV viewership and radio listenership, the Seahawks' fan base increase has been unusually large.
Forbes looked at data from Nielsen Scarborough, which studied the viewing habits of adults in each NFL market. It found that the 71% of the Seattle market tuned in to watch a Seahawks game in the past 12 months. That's good for sixth in the league. The Green Bay Packers ranked No. 1 at 84% of adults in the Green Bay market.
In 2013, before the Seahwks won the Super Bowl, Seattle ranked 24th. Green Bay, which won the Super Bowl four years ago, has been No. 1 for four years running, according to Forbes.
Forbes says the increase in Seattle interest is based on 27% growth in its fan base over the past year (based on attendance and watching or listening to games), which Nielsen's data said was the largest jump of any team.
"The Seahawks' success on the field is a large part of that surge; however, such growth is particularly noteworthy since NFL teams rarely rise up the rankings to such an extent, regardless of an increase in performance," writes Forbes contributor Darren Heitner.
