Beyond revenue generation for both of these leagues, emphasizing the importance of sport is necessary to foster an interest in rising generations within and outside of the United States. Rates of sport participation in the United States are increasing, reaching a high in 2023 since 2015 rates, but there is a slow return to participation rates from before the pandemic (Project Play, 2024). This is despite the cost to play being seen as lower than before the pandemic, costing families an average of $883 for one child’s primary sport (Costs to Play Trends, 2022). According to Project Play (2024), “families of children ages 6-12 who come from the lowest-income homes (under $25,000) [...] were the only income bracket that declined in core participation from the previous year (4% decrease); every other income bracket at that age increased between 3% and 6%.” Leagues need to focus on increasing their international audience partially because of these changing trends in sport participation and interest from American youth.

The NFL and NBA should focus on how to further expand into international sectors because their international fans likely want to be as engaged as a United States-based fan. Some specific teams have made strides to be more inclusive in different ways, such as the inclusion of @losbulls, the Chicago Bulls’ Instagram account with content translated completely into Spanish. This kind of effort recognizes and includes fans who may come from Hispanic communities in Chicago or primarily Spanish speaking backgrounds. Determining ways to show international communities of fans that they are valued is a priority, especially when those places are not ones that regularly get an international game or have other physical forms to connect with sport leagues.

It is important to acknowledge that sports including basketball and American football have less multi-generational cultural meaning in other parts of the world as compared to sports such as cricket, Formula 1, and European football. Nonetheless, developing affiliation and acknowledgment of these sports around the world will lend to revenue growth in the short and long-term, and help combat changing viewership trends in the current dominant viewer market. Geographically distant fans will be less engaged or willing to participate without the creation of robust engagement strategies that showcase U.S. sports to major fan bases around the world. This must be a priority for U.S.-based leagues on a broader scale than what is currently being done. 

Breaking into new or untapped international markets is not only a goal for U.S.-based leagues. European sports leagues have also been working diligently to break into high-potential markets such as the United States. International teams and leagues have successfully built branding in the United States with over 100 U.S. companies having partnered with F1 (Berg, 2024) and Premier League and Series A soccer clubs hosting their own U.S. friendly matches, generating fandom and connecting with fans in a large soccer market (Milan, 2024). The opportunity for expansion is ever-present for sports leagues around the world and should be taken advantage of as viewership and excitement around sport changes with upcoming generations in the United States.