NFL dominated television screens in 2022

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but a lot of people watch the NFL. 

In 2022, sports fans repeatedly chose the NFL over all others. According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, 45 of the past year's top 50 most watched Nielsen-measured sporting events were NFL games. 

The Los Angeles Rams' win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI took the top spot, drawing 99.18 million viewers. The NFC Championship Game, San Francisco 49ers vs. Rams, and AFC Championship Game, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Bengals, followed, watched by 50.23 million and 47.85 viewers, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills vs. Chiefs AFC divisional round (42.74 million) and the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving matchup against the New York Giants (42.06 million) rounded out the top five. 

The award for the highest-rated non-NFL sporting event goes to the College Football National Championship Game, as 22.56 million people watched Georgia snap a 41-year title drought. However, the national title game ranked as the 33rd-most watched sporting event of the year, with the NFL holding the top 32 spots, further putting its dominance in perspective. 

The most watched event unrelated to football, night nine of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, checked in at No. 34, drawing 22.49 million sets of eyes. 

News of the NFL's demolition of the ratings comes not long after the league flexed its muscle against the NBA on Christmas Day. On basketball's day to shine, the NFL defeated the NBA by a wide margin. The game watched most on the NBA schedule, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics, drew 6.03 million viewers. Meanwhile, the highest-rated NFL game, an uninspiring matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins, was seen by 25.92 million people. 

It's not a secret that the NFL is king, and nearly anyone could've guessed it would rule the ratings in 2022. But the staggering side-by-side rating comparisons to other sports prove that the NFL monster isn't going anywhere anytime soon. If anything, its growth is continuing at a rapid pace.