The NFL thinks you’re shallow and they’re too lazy to care

I remember being 12 years old on my middle school football field and needing to prove I could name five NFL players to get in on a recess scrimmage. 

My male classmates looked at me bitterly as I rattled off name after name. Unfortunately for them, it would be harder than that to humiliate me. 

Being a girl who watches football isn’t like the unbothered, enjoyable experience it is for male fans — I have come to expect dismissive responses whenever I announce my longest-standing passion. 

The boys questioning me didn’t care that I shed more tears on a miracle playoff run than I did when I dislocated my shoulder. They couldn’t fathom that a girl could possibly be interested in it for what it was: fun.

These childish beliefs are why I take offence at the NFL’s new marketing campaign.

Front Office Sports recently published an article revealing the NFL had created a co-ordinated content rollout to increase “female-focused content.” The campaign staged “candid” training camp moments between three of the league’s quarterbacks and their high-profile girlfriends. 

The photos were released within the same week as if their female fans couldn’t see right through what they called their “helmets-off strategy.” 

The stereotypical American football fan is a man in his 50s. I have noticed the NFL has trouble promoting itself to other demographics — especially younger women. 

All of this changed when Taylor Swift entered the picture. 

Suddenly, the league had access to a new audience that greatly boosted its financial success. The number of female fans skyrocketed from 47 per cent in 2020 to over 50 per cent globally in 2024, and they brought in almost $1 billion worth of sales growth. 

So the NFL did exactly what any other organization would do — they capitalized on it. 

However, the league made one fatal mistake. They reverted to an idea that only pushes this exact demographic away: women aren’t interested in sports unless there is some sort of cosmetic intrigue to go alongside it.  

It does not surprise me that the NFL is still deeply rooted in its dismissive behaviour towards women, and this media campaign was fed from it. This is the same league that had no jersey options for women that weren’t bright pink for years. It’s entirely unsurprising, thoroughly disappointing. Frankly, I’m over it. 

Women have proved time and time again that they only improve the spaces they’re in. So why can’t women be marketed to in a way that shows they’re seen as valuable? Instead of relying on the wives and girlfriends of the players to bring in female viewership, the NFL should consider what real support actually looks like. 

A league that only employs 15 full-time female coaches is not supportive. A league that has expressed no interest in creating an equivalent all-female organization is not supportive. A league that allows a man to be starting quarterback with nearly 30 sexual assault lawsuits against him is not supportive. 

This displays a fundamental misunderstanding of their own audience. Women aren’t uninterested in football because there aren’t enough famous girlfriends, they are uninterested because the league has shown them it doesn’t respect them. 

When the league turns their head away from dozens of players with assault charges, and whose owners put money in the pockets of politicians who want to strip women of their rights, it’s not a surprise when they create such a superficial campaign. 

If you don’t take women seriously, you can’t expect their devotion. 

So here’s my message to fellow female fans: ultimately, many truths can exist at once. You can be a fan of Madison Beer and get excited over her game-day fits, and you can also be disappointed when a sport you love proves yet again that they believe you’re stupid enough to fall for something as shallow as a co-ordinated PDA photoshoot.