Poll: NFL drops as favorite US sport – The Hill (blog)

Football is losing popularity in America among its core demographics in the wake of NFL players’ protests during the national anthem and President Trump’s criticism, according to a new poll.

A poll from the right-leaning firm Winston Group first reported by the Washington Examiner found that favorable ratings for the NFL have dropped significantly among the organization’s core supporters.

Just 42 percent of males aged 34-54 had a favorable view of the NFL in September, a 31-point drop from the 73 percent reported in the same poll in August.

Football now has the highest unfavorable rating of any major sport in the survey.

The polling firm broke down the NFL’s popularity problems by demographic, pointing to “every category” decreasing in support for the organization.

“More critically for the NFL, the fall off in favorables occurred among important audiences,” a Winston Group analysis reads.

“Among males, NFL favorables fell 23 percent, going from 68 percent to 45 percent. In looking at a more specific audience, males 34-54, NFL favorables fell 31 percent, going from 73 percent to 42 percent. Among this group the NFL has a surprising negative image, as it went from +54 percent in August to -5 percent in September.”

According to the poll, Major League Baseball is now the most popular major sports league in the country. Six out of 10 Americans view the MLB favorably, compared to just 13 percent who don’t view it favorably. MLB’s popularity rose 2 points between the end of August and the end of September.

The Winston group surveyed 1,000 registered voters between Aug. 29-30 and Sept. 28-29. No margin of error for the poll was readily available.