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Everyone Loves the NFL. the Individual Players? That's a Different

Everyone Loves the NFL. the Individual Players? That's a Different

Tom Van Riper, Forbes Staff I cover the business of sports for Forbes. BUSINESS | 10/23/2012

Everyone loves the NFL. The individual players? That’s a different story. As with any sports league, fans choose their heroes and villains.

The biggest takeaway from our annual look at player popularity in the NFL: fans like , low-key pass catchers and . Who they don’t like: quarterbacks, cocky pass catchers and Cowboys.

Nielsen recently collaborated on a survey with E-Poll Market Research aimed at finding out which NFL players resonated with fans as appealing, and which didn’t. Players’ appeal numbers were scored based on the percentage of those whose response was to “like” the player or “like him a lot.” First, a quick look at the top of each list. The most-liked player in the NFL is Troy Polumalu, the crazy-haired, high- energy defensive back from the Steelers, whose appeal rating registers at 63%. Not much surprise there — talent, all-out effort and a roster spot on a nationally popular team go a long way with fans. ’s least-liked player: , the second overall pick in 2010 whose early popularity slipped into reverse as he developed a reputation for dirty play. Suh, whose appeal registers at just 19%, was suspended by the league last season for stomping on a Green Bay Packers lineman in front of a national TV audience on Thanksgiving Day.

As for pass catchers: fans take a liking to workmanlike receivers (58%) and (57%), but not to perceived divas (24%) and Santonio Homes (28%).

Overall, though, no one dominates NFL fan passion like a . Five of the 1- most-liked and seven of the 10 least-liked players in the league, the poll shows, are QBs. On the thumbs-up list: (62% appeal), (59%), (58%), Robert Griffin III (57%) and (56%). The overriding theme: success, broken down one of two ways. Brees, Manning, Rodgers are winners, while Griffin and Stafford are young talents who seem to be living up to the hype. Griffin, in particular, has quickly broken through with a lot of attention and endorsement spots since joining the Redskins, according to Nielsen’s Senior Vice President for Sports, Stephen Master.

“He plays on a high-profile team, with a lot of good, high-profile rivalries,” Master says of Washington’s perch in the NFC East, from which they play two annual games against the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles (Master notes, incidentally, that Giants’ QB and his favorite target, receiver Victor Cruz, are very popular players who just missed the top 10 cutoff).

Then there are the quarterbacks who are not in the fans’ best graces: (21% appeal), (23%), (26%), (27%), (27%), (31%) and (31%). Call that list fans at their most demanding: Romo, Cutler, Vick, and Sanchez have all enjoyed degrees of success but haven’t joined Brees, Manning, and Rodgers in winning the big one (Vick also has his past legal issues of course). Meantime, Leinart and Quinn, both heralded college quarterbacks from major schools, haven’t joined Stafford or Griffin in living up to the hype.

Finally, there’s the team factor. Three Green Bay Packers — Rodgers, Driver and defensive back — are among the 10 most liked players in the league. The most blatant contrast: not one but two ’ quarterbacks, Tony Romo and Kyle Orton, are among the least-liked.

Clearly, the NFL isn’t Major League , where long-term powerhouses are limited to big markets. Despite the Packers’ success — 14 playoff seasons in 19 years, including a Super Bowl title and a 15-1 season in the past two — their small-market status and vintage stadium keep them popular with fans. “They aren’t polarizing like the Yankees are in baseball,” says Master. “It’s the Cowboys that are football’s version of the Yankees.”

Romo, a good quarterback who by all accounts has never hurt anyone, and Orton, whose biggest sin was once getting caught on video drinking too much during his days four years ago, can probably attest to that.

NFL’S Most Liked Players

1

Pittsburgh Steelers Salary: $9.1 million Appeal: 63%

Fans just love the all-out play and the hair. And Steeler fans abound everywhere.

2 Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints Salary: $10.4 million Appeal: 62%

In a season of upheaval for the Saints, Brees has been the steadying, familiar influence. And there’s still the glow from leading the club to its first Super Bowl title three years ago. His

new contract pays $100 million over five years, $53 million of which comes during the final two years.

3 Charles Woodson

Green Bay Packers Salary: $11.6 million Appeal: 62% Wonder if anyone even remembers his , which came in 1997 (Woodson is the only

primarily defensive player to win it). Since then a perennial All-Pro with the Raiders and Packers who’s gotten a lot of playoff exposure over the years.

4 Peyton Manning

Denver Broncos Salary: $18 million Appeal: 59% Long admired for his talent and professionalism, Manning caught some extra attention this year during his much-hyped move to Denver.

5 Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers Salary: $9 million Appeal: 58% Super Bowl quarterback who excels on the field consistently, plays for a popular team, and shows an appealingly subtle sense of humor in his TV ads.

6 Rob Gronkowski

New England Patriots Salary: $2.6 million Appeal: 58%

The Gronk, who set single season records for and receiving yards by a last season, has over 350,000 followers. Should he stay healthy and productive, his salary will escalate to $12.5 million by 2019.

7 Robert Griffin III

Washington Redskins Salary: $3.9 million Appeal: 57%

Andrew Luck was the top pick, but RG III’s Heisman Trophy and exciting style have brought more fanfare.

8

Chicago Bears Salary: $9.2 million Appeal: 57%

Throwback for a throwback team - who doesn’t love a modern ?

9 Donald Driver

Green Bay Packers Salary: $2.3 million Appeal: 57% One of the league’s most consistent wide receivers for years catching passes from and Aaron Rodgers, Driver finally got his share of attention by winning Dancing with the Stars last spring.

10 Matthew Stafford

Detroit Lions Salary: $8.9 million Appeal: 56%

Young QB has sparkled since his injury-plagued 2010 season, leading the Lions back to respectability.

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