WASHINGTON, D.C. — Football remains Americans’ favorite sport to watch, by a wide margin, although the 31% who name it as their favorite is the lowest since 2001. Meanwhile, 9% of Americans identify soccer as their favorite sport, the highest Gallup has measured by two percentage points. Soccer now is nearly on par with basketball (11%) and baseball (10%).
The next tier of sports, chosen by between 2% and 4% of Americans, includes ice hockey, volleyball, auto racing and mixed martial arts (MMA).
The Aug. 3-24 survey also finds 20% of Americans saying they do not have a favorite sport, the highest in Gallup’s trend.
Football Has Had Long Reign as Top Sport
Gallup first asked Americans to name their favorite sport to watch in 1937. That year, baseball led with 34%, as it did in the 1948 and 1960 surveys that followed. Football, the second-ranked sport in the early Gallup surveys, overtook baseball in the next update, in 1972. Football has continued to top the list the past 54 years across 23 separate measurements.
The percentage of Americans naming football as their favorite sport has varied since taking over the top spot, ranging from as low as 28% in 1985 and 2001 to as high as 43% in 2006 and 2007. Part of the reason for the variation is that fewer people name football as their favorite sport outside of football season, when they may be less likely to have it in mind when responding to the open-ended question.
Since it became the top sport in 1972, an average of 38% of U.S. adults have named football as their favorite sport when the survey is conducted during football season (September-January), versus 32% when conducted outside the season. But the current figure is still below average for out-of-season polls.
After falling out of first place in 1972, baseball remained the No. 2 sport until the mid-1990s, averaging 18% of mentions during that period. Since then, it has averaged 12%, including 10% in the past three surveys.
Soccer has risen as baseball has fallen in recent years. At least 5% of Americans have said soccer is their favorite sport the last three times Gallup has asked the question, including 9% this year in the weeks after the U.S., Canada and Mexico hosted the World Cup. Before 2005, soccer never exceeded 2% of mentions, and was less than 1% until 1981.
Basketball has also gained in popularity over time. An average of 9% of Americans chose basketball between 1937 and 1981. Over the past four decades, the average has been 13%, including a high of 17% in a 1997 poll, when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were the dominant team in pro basketball.
Younger Adults Less Enthusiastic About Football
Football is the most popular sport across all major demographic groups, though the percentage naming it varies. Some of the largest differences are seen by age, with 20% of young adults (those aged 18 to 34) identifying football as their preferred sport to watch, compared with 30% of those aged 35 to 54 and 38% of those aged 55 and older. Younger adults’ lesser affinity for football helps explain why fewer Americans overall are choosing it as their favorite sport.
Close to one in four young adults say they have no favorite sport (23%), while about 10% each name basketball, baseball or soccer as their favorite.
There are meaningful racial/ethnic differences in the percentages naming football, basketball and soccer. White adults are more likely to name football, while people of color are more likely to name basketball (largely driven by Black Americans) and soccer (largely driven by Hispanic Americans) as their favorite.
More upper-income Americans (37%) than middle- (32%) and lower-income Americans (25%) name football as their favorite sport, while lower-income Americans are the most likely to name soccer (13%). These income differences largely reflect the age and race/ethnicity differences.
Bottom Line
As the 2026 football season kicks off, the sport continues to be the one Americans most enjoy watching. Though football maintains a wide lead over other sports, the percentage naming it this year is on the low end of Gallup’s trend over the past 50 years. That trend bears watching, as it is partially attributable to younger adults being less inclined to name football as their favorite sport.
Baseball continues to decline as Americans’ top sport, with basketball — and, more recently, soccer — rising in popularity. A key question about soccer is whether it can sustain this new high level in the coming years, or whether the boost was temporarily driven by excitement over the U.S. hosting this year’s World Cup.
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