Ranking North American Major League Sports Teams by Twitter Followers (February 2021)
Following the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’s triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, there will be some assessment on where the 32 franchises of the National Football League stand going into the offseason. Analysts will look at salary cap, draft picks, and other figures to determine which teams are poised for success in the near future. For this article, I am interested in a different potential metric of success.
The influence of social media in the sports world grows exponentially each year. Because of that, you (or more likely just me) may be curious how your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB team fares against other teams in their leagues with their social media presence. While the number of Twitter followers isn’t the most exact science given the large number of media members who follow every team in one or multiple leagues, it does paint a picture of which teams are considered the most relevant whether it be from a big picture perspective or a reflection of recent trends. All numbers were recorded on February 7, 2021 following the Super Bowl. Below are the teams of the four traditional major sports leagues of Canada and the United States ranked from most to least followers, with some brief observations for each league.
National Basketball Association
1st 9.5M Los Angeles Lakers
2nd 6.6M Golden State Warriors
3rd 4.8M Miami Heat
4th 4.2M Chicago Bulls
5th 3.6M Boston Celtics
6th 3.4M San Antonio Spurs
7th 3.2M Cleveland Cavaliers
8th 3.1M Houston Rockets
9th 2.7M Oklahoma City Thunder
10th 2.3M Toronto Raptors
11th 2.2M New York Knicks
12th 1.9M Philadelphia 76ers
13th 1.8M Dallas Mavericks
14th 1.7M Los Angeles Clippers
15th 1.5M Orlando Magic
T-16th 1.3M Milwaukee Bucks
T-16th 1.3M Portland Trail Blazers
T-18th 1.2M Atlanta Hawks
T-18th 1.2M Brooklyn Nets
T-18th 1.2M Indiana Pacers
T-18th 1.2M Phoenix Suns
T-22nd 1.1M Denver Nuggets
T-22nd 1.1M Memphis Grizzlies
T-22nd 1.1M New Orleans Pelicans
T-22nd 1.1M Sacramento Kings
T-22nd 1.1M Washington Wizards
T-27th 1M Charlotte Hornets
T-27th 1M Minnesota Timberwolves
T-27th 1M Utah Jazz
30th 982K Detroit Pistons
With the Lakers boasting double the amount of followers as the next highest followed NFL/MLB/NHL team and 29 of the 30 teams having 1 million or more followers, the NBA appears to have the strongest social media presence on Twitter. The top 6 teams on this list are all multi-time NBA champions, while the bottom team Detroit Pistons coincidentally also is a multi-time champion. It’s a large block of teams in the 1.-1.3 million range.
National Football League
1st 4.5M New England Patriots
2nd 3.9M Dallas Cowboys
3rd 3.5M Pittsburgh Steelers
4th 3.4M Philadelphia Eagles
5th 3M Carolina Panthers
6th 2.6M Denver Broncos
7th 2.4M Seattle Seahawks
T-8th 2.3M Atlanta Falcons
T-8th 2.3M Green Bay Packers
10th 2.1M San Francisco 49ers
11th 1.9M Houston Texans
T-12th 1.8M Chicago Bears
T-12th 1.8M New York Giants
T-14th 1.7M Kansas City Chiefs
T-14th 1.7M Las Vegas Raiders
16th 1.6M Baltimore Ravens
17th 1.5M New Orleans Saints
T-18th 1.3M Cleveland Browns
T-18th 1.3M Detroit Lions
T-18th 1.3M Minnesota Vikings
T-21st 1.2M New York Jets
T-21st 1.2M Washington Football Team
23rd 1.1M Buffalo Bills
T-24th 1M Indianapolis Colts
T-24th 1M Miami Dolphins
26th 979K Arizona Cardinals
27th 959K Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28th 944K Los Angeles Rams
29th 919K Los Angeles Chargers
30th 897K Cincinnati Bengals
31st 873K Tennessee Titans
32nd 699K Jacksonville Jaguars
The top 3 in the National Football League come as no surprise given the amount of Super Bowls the Patriots, Steelers, and Cowboys have won and how often they are in NFL conversations whether they are currently successful or not. 25 of the 32 franchises have 1 million or more followers, with 4 of those 7 knocking on the door of that threshold. Jaguars are significantly behind that pack. The Chiefs and Buccaneers despite being in this year’s Super Bowl are not among the top teams, likely due to their relatively smaller markets.
Major League Baseball
1st 3.4M New York Yankees
2nd 2.5M Chicago Cubs
T-3rd 2.2M Los Angeles Dodgers
T-3rd 2.2M Toronto Blue Jays
5th 2.1M Boston Red Sox
6th 1.8M Philadelphia Phillies
7th 1.7M San Francisco Giants
8th 1.6M Arizona Diamondbacks
9th 1.5M Houston Astros
10th 1.4M Detroit Tigers
T-11th 1.3M Atlanta Braves
T-11th 1.3M Texas Rangers
13th 1.2M St. Louis Cardinals
14th 1.1M Los Angeles Angels
T-15th 1M Cleveland Indians
T-15th 1M Kansas City Royals
T-15th 1M New York Mets
18th 937K Chicago White Sox
19th 867K Cincinnati Reds
20th 781K Baltimore Orioles
21st 764K Washington Nationals
22nd 740K Pittsburgh Pirates
23rd 647K Minnesota Twins
24th 635K Milwaukee Brewers
25th 609K Tampa Bay Rays
26th 584K Colorado Rockies
27th 570K Oakland Athletics
28th 568K Seattle Mariners
29th 455K San Diego Padres
30th 362K Miami Marlins
The gap between the Yankees and the Marlins (bonded by Derek Jeter who played for the former team while is currently the partial owner and CEO of the latter) is a staggering tenfold amount, which reflects the gap between the better/richer teams in baseball and the rest of the pack. While many of the most successful franchises appear at the top of the list, seeing teams like the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels above the Washington Nationals was a bit of a surprise.
National Hockey League
1st 2.4M Chicago Blackhawks
2nd 1.9M Toronto Maple Leafs
3rd 1.8M Pittsburgh Penguins
T-4th 1.5M Boston Bruins
T-4th 1.5M Montreal Canadiens
T-4th 1.5M Philadelphia Flyers
7th 1.4M New York Rangers
8th 1.2M Detroit Red Wings
9th 1.1M Los Angeles Kings
T-10th 1M Dallas Stars
T-10th 1M Vancouver Canucks
12th 862K Buffalo Sabres
13th 840K Edmonton Oilers
14th 809K San Jose Sharks
15th 781K Washington Capitals
16th 750K St. Louis Blues
17th 737K New Jersey Devils
18th 728K Tampa Bay Lightning
19th 686K Minnesota Wild
20th 638K Calgary Flames
21st 609K Nashville Predators
22nd 600K Anaheim Ducks
23rd 589K Ottawa Senators
24th 560K Winnipeg Jets
25th 552K New York Islanders
26th 542K Colorado Avalanche
27th 497K Columbus Blue Jackets
28th 481K Carolina Hurricanes
29th 479K Vegas Golden Knights
30th 383K Florida Panthers
31st 380K Arizona Coyotes
32nd 231K Seattle Kraken
Traditional powerhouses, namely those from the “Original Six” rule the roost in the National Hockey League. Aside from the Maple Leafs and Canadiens, the Canadian teams exist in the middle of the pack. The 31st NHL franchise Vegas Golden Knights have done well to leap from two teams in their short history, with the 32nd franchise Seattle Kraken understandably last since they will begin play in the 2021–22 season.
What do you think about these lists? Which teams surprised you? What do you think about where your team stands? Would you be interested in seeing a combined list or an article focusing on the various soccer leagues and clubs? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @IvanOrnelas2.
