Do sports fans know their game better than their families?

Betway Sport’s latest research reveals fan priorities, highlighting whether sports or family comes first in their lives.

In the US alone, three-quarters of the population, about 251 million people, are sports fans. In fact, many seem borderline obsessed with sports, sometimes knowing the game better than details about their own families.

To find out just how many people prioritize sports, sports betting site Betway carried out a survey of over 2,000 North American sports fans to determine how their knowledge of their favorite game compares to their knowledge of their loved ones.

Do fans know their favorite sports game better than their own family?

We put respondents to the test, asking them how easily they’d find it to remember everything from sports rules to financial facts and even important family moments.

Surprisingly, over four in five (84%) people say they find it easy to distinguish between a touchdown and a field goal in football. That’s higher than the 55% who find writing a resume easy and more than the 52% who know basic first aid. But perhaps the most shocking of all, more people know how to identify a field goal than those who know the date of their child’s birthday (75%). Yikes.

Given these surprising figures, we wanted to delve deeper into who exactly is prioritizing sports over their family. With over half of the US population claiming to be an NFL fan, we looked at which teams’ fans in particular have trouble remembering key family dates over sporting knowledge.

Seattle Seahawks supporters were the least likely to know their child’s birthday, with just 79% indicating that they find this easy to remember. Meanwhile, Denver Broncos fans are the most likely to know the difference between a touchdown and a field goal (87%), but are some of the least likely to know how to set up a retirement fund, with under half of people (48%) saying they’re confident in how to do this.

It doesn’t stop there; there’s a similar trend when it comes to basketball. 66% of fans said it would be easy to recall the importance of the three-point line—more than those who know how to set up a retirement fund (42%), the current inflation rate (38%), or the average cost of a house in their state (40%).

Now looking at NBA teams, the Golden State Warriors fans know the significance of the three-point line in gameplay the best, with one-quarter (68%) saying they find this easy. Indiana Pacers fans know the differing rules for a clear path foul compared to a regular foul the best, with 37% saying this.

How much money do people spend on their sport vs their loved ones?

When it comes to where people spend their money, North Americans seem to have a heavy focus on sports. In fact, one in six (14%) people still agreed that they find it more rewarding to spend money on their favorite team than on their family, and a further one in seven people (12%) said they would rather spend money on their sports team than invest it for the future.

Overall, fans spend an average of $1,772 annually on non-sporting expenses, such as gifts, vacations, and date nights. On sports, they spend a little less, amounting to $1,459 a year on things like tickets, travel, and subscriptions. While fans spend less on sports on the whole, the amount they spend on their favorite team might still come as a shock. 

On average, people spend about $761 a year on sports tickets, including an average of $127 for home games, $149 for away games and $233 for playoff games tickets, as well as $252 for season tickets. In comparison, spending on gifts like a partner’s birthday ($194), a relative’s birthday ($101), and Valentine’s Day ($140) totals just $495. This means people are spending about $300 more on sports tickets than on gifts for their loved ones.

Even when it comes to travel for away games across a season, people are paying out $255 on average. That’s more than they spend on things like romantic dates ($160) or anniversary gifts ($200).

Let’s take a closer look at the spending of individual fans and how these compare to one another:

In the NFL, Jacksonville Jaguars fans spend the most on sports, amounting to $2,451 overall, which is actually more than the overall average. Kansas City Chiefs fans spend the least, adding up to $1,547 over the course of the year. Looking at NBA fans, Memphis Grizzlies fans spend the most on their friends and family, at $2,419 per year, while Detroit Piston fans spend the most on sports, at $2,591.

How much time do people spend on their sport vs their loved ones?

When it comes to how people spend their time, watching sports takes up a significant chunk of it. On average, fans watch games on TV for about 9 days and 12 hours a year, which is almost the same amount of time they spend playing with their kids (9 days and 7 hours per year).

Add in the time spent attending live games (5 days and 14 hours), participating in fantasy leagues (4 days and 2 hours), and talking about sports (4 days and 14 hours), this amounts to 24 days spent invested in sports—almost a month overall.

In comparison, spending time with friends averages around 7 days and 5 hours per year, which is less than a third of the time people dedicate to sports overall. Even other activities like dates with a partner (7 days, 5 hours) and hobbies outside of sports (8 days, 12 hours) don’t add up to as much time as people devote to sports.

When we look at NFL teams, the Detroit Lions fans spend the most time watching sports on TV (11 days, 22 hours days per year), but spend the least amount of time on dates with their partner, at just 6 days and 17 hours per year. For the NBA, Los Angeles Clippers fans spend the longest watching sports on TV (10 days and 14 hours each year).

The events people will miss for their sport

In a world where sports are clearly a major passion, a surprising number of people admit to letting the game dictate their attendance at family and social events. But how many people would actually miss an important event to watch sports, whether on TV or live in an audience?

Sports can sometimes take priority over personal commitments, even when loved ones are involved. While family and friends generally remain the strongest influence in people’s lives, the draw of a big game can still be hard to resist. For example, 15% of people have missed out on socializing with friends in order to watch a big game on TV.

Similarly, one in 10 fans have passed on a family dinner, choosing to kick back in front of the TV or head to a sports bar, swapping family time for the excitement of watching the game.

Friendships can feel the impact too. In fact, 8% of people confessed to considering skipping a friend’s birthday party in favor of a game, while 9% went as far as missing the celebration altogether. Another 11% showed up to a friend’s birthday with the expectation that they’d still get to watch the action on screen.

Even when it comes to major life events, such as a wedding, family isn’t prioritized by everyone. 6% have thought about missing their loved one tying the knot to watch a game, and 5% actually did. Unbelievably, about 6% considered missing the birth of a family member to watch a game, and 5% say they have actually done this at some point! That’s real dedication.

So, all in all, it’s pretty clear that sports fans often know their game better than they do family birthdays or other important events. Between the time, money, and energy spent on teams, it’s no wonder some fans get caught up in the sport over personal milestones. While sports are clearly a big part of life, when does the balance tip too far, and how does it affect those close to us?

Methodology

A survey of 2,300 North Americans was conducted in December, 2024.