Shockingly, the NFL isn’t completely infallible.

America’s purveyors of professional football are in a league of their own when it comes to viewership domination. The NBA, MLB, or NHL don’t hold a candle to the ratings the NFL regularly puts up. Only college football can claim to be in the same weight class, though even that’s a stretch.

But apparently, even the NFL succumbs to ratings decline occasionally. This year, that seems to be in its local viewership measurements.

According to John Ourand of Puck, 21 of the NFL’s 32 teams have seen year-over-year viewership declines in their local markets. The two teams with the largest declines hail from the Empire State. Both the New York Giants and New York Jets are down massively in the NYC market, declining 30% and 29% respectively versus last season. Given the horrid on-field performance from both teams, it’s no surprise that locals are tuning out, but they’re not the only teams with issues.

Two other struggling franchises — the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns — have also seen significant declines. Vegas is down 27% this season while Cleveland is down 22%.

The common thread with all four teams is quarterback problems. Between the Giants and their carousel of backups, the Jets and an aging Aaron Rodgers, the Raiders and their replacement-level starters, and the Browns who are now on their third starting quarterback of the season, who could blame even the locals for tuning out?

Among the negative, however, a couple of teams have positive stories to tell. Per Ourand, the Houston Texans have seen the largest increase in the league with local viewership spiking 21% this season. Another feel-good story this year, the Detroit Lions, has seen viewership increase by 10%.

Even though local ratings for most teams have taken a hit this year, the NFL’s national ratings have held relatively steady versus a strong 2023 season. In fact, one of the league’s prominent national packages, Thursday Night Football, is trending towards a five-year high in its third season exclusively on Amazon.

All-in-all, it’s unlikely these figures are causing panic in the league office. The NFL is abnormally polar this year, with many teams sporting really poor records, while many others hold strong records. With more teams well out of the playoff hunt well before normal, it’s no wonder a lot of markets are down.

Given the strength of the league’s national windows remain strong, there’s no reason to hit the panic button yet.

[Puck]