Patriots fans once again ranked one of NFL’s top fanbases according to study

Matt Stone | Boston Herald

The New England Patriots have had a high rate of success spanning almost two decades, and it turns out their fanbase is pretty successful, too.

For the second year in a row, Emory University ranked Patriots’ fans at No. 2, according to it’s annual NFL Fan and Brand Report.

Dr. Michael Lewis, an associate professor of marketing at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, revealed that the only team with a higher ranked fanbase than New England is the Dallas Cowboys.

Lewis and his team compile the results based on three factors: “social equity,” “fan equity” and “road equity.”

Social equity measures how engaged and loyal the team’s fanbase is based on social media platforms; fan equity measures how much revenue the fans create through ticket sales and team merchandise; and road equity looks at how well the fanbases travel to road games. The Patriots were ranked fifth in this last category.

The Cowboys and Patriots were the only two teams to finish in the top five in all three metrics, giving New England an overall ranking of second place.

The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers rounded out the top five, respectively.

For more info on the study, click here.

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