2022 Fanbase Rankings: The Rams are Where?!

Fanalytics' 2022 fandom rankings were especially surprising for Los Angeles Rams fans.

Arnav Sharma | May 18, 2022

After a tumultuous move from St. Louis back to Los Angeles after the 2015 NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams have quickly become known as Los Angeles' signature NFL team. Supposedly.

Mike Lewis, the host of the Fanalytics podcast and a professor of marketing at Emory University's School of Business, recently revealed his 2022 rankings of the best NFL fanbases.

The top five ranked fanbases were found to be, in order, the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rams ranked 24th, just behind the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions.

Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams

The rankings were determined using actual statistics as opposed to solely using opinions and media narratives. Some factors that went into the rankings included "fan equity," which referred to the amount of money fans spend on their respective teams, "social equity," which emphasized social media following and showed the overall popularity of fanbases, and "talent equity," which examined how well teams actually performed in relation to their payroll.

However, the biggest surprise of the rankings was that the Los Angeles Rams fanbase actually ranked significantly behind the Los Angeles Chargers fanbase, which ranked 15th. Since 2016, the year in which the Rams moved to Los Angeles, the Rams have had significantly more success than the Chargers. With two NFC championship wins and a recent Super Bowl win, the Rams should theoretically have ranked far ahead of the Chargers.

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay hoists the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl LVI

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) celebrates after a pressure in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl LVI

Aug 14, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Justin Lawler (53, center) and defensive back Brontae Harris (35, right) defend against Los Angeles Chargers running back Justin Jackson (22) in the first quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Chargers

Lewis offers an explanation: despite the Rams' greater success, both teams have proportionally similar marketplace outcomes through viewership and social media followers; however, Lewis also believes that the Super Bowl win could lead to the Rams emerging more definitively as Los Angeles' primary football team.

While the Rams may not comfortably be the city's signature football team at the moment, they are more than poised to defend their Super Bowl title and continue building a loyal fanbase for years to come.

Published May 18, 2022