Through Week 9, 19 of the league’s 32 teams have an average attendance below their full-season mark from 2019. Here are three takeaways from the first half of this season:
1. New stadiums for the Chargers (SoFi Stadium from a far smaller venue in Carson, Calif.) and the Raiders (Allegiant Stadium after leaving Oakland) alone are responsible for pushing the total NFL attendance into the black this season.
2. The Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have seen a huge jump thanks to the addition of star quarterbacks in Joe Burrow and Tom Brady, respectively, and the resulting on-field success.
3. The New Orleans Saints took a hit from having to play a home game in Jacksonville due to Hurricane Ida.