The NFL in Dublin: by the numbers
NFL IN DUBLIN: Pittsburgh Steelers supporters arrive before the 2025 NFL International Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
American sports has always been riddled with stats, most of them all but useless, but what are the numbers that really count as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings play the first ever NFL regular-season game on Irish soil?
– There have been 11 college football games played in Ireland now but this is the first ever regular season NFL game to be played in Irish soil. Ireland will be the sixth foreign country to host one with Spain and Australia also due to join the growing club.
– The number of Super Bowls the Pittsburgh Steelers have won, four of them between 1975 and 1980, and a record they share with the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings have yet to win one. The first Super Bowl was played in 1967.
– The number of different TV networks in the USA that have live broadcasting deals with the National Football League (NFL) right now. They are: CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN/ABC, NFL Network and Prime Video. Virgin Media and Sky will show Sunday’s game live in Ireland.
– The number worn by the Steelers’ 41-year old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, by a distance the most famous player in Croke Park on Sunday. Rodgers moved up to fourth in the last of all-time touchdown passes thrown last weekend in a win against the New England Patriots.
- The number of games teams play in each regular season across just 18 weeks from early September to early January, with some owners reportedly in favour of adding one more despite reservations on player welfare grounds.
– The number of consecutive winning seasons Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has recorded. Only the legendary pair of Tom Landry (21) with the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (19) have had longer streaks.
– The number of teams/franchises currently operating in the NFL. Only four have been added in the last 30 years. The question is whether an international franchise, as has been mooted before, would be in the mix if more were greenlit.
– The number of points the Vikings put on the Cincinnati Bengals last week when going 2-1 for the season. Their defence has been impressive too. They will be favourites against the Steelers have won two and lost one as well. Both will be aiming for the playoffs.
– The number of ‘International Series’ NFL regular season games held abroad since the first in 2007 - not including Buffalo Bills games in Toronto - the vast majority of them played in London. Dublin will be the 50th with six others being played outside the US this season.
– The number of players allowed on a team roster during the season, although only 48 are eligible to play on any given day and just eleven can be on the field at any one time. Teams are separated into three units: offense, defense and special teams.
– The weight in pounds of the heaviest player across the two rosters, Steelers’ defensive end Yahya Black. The 23-year old stands 6’ 5” tall and has proven adept, in college and early on in his pro career, at blocking quarterback’s passes.
– The year the Steelers played the Chicago Bears in a pre-season game at a very different Croke Park. The Steelers won the ‘American Bowl’ 30-17 in front of less than 30,000 fans and The Corrs provided the half0time entertainment.
– The estimated number of foreign fans descending on Ireland for this NFL game. Numbers vary but the NFL said demand for this game was very different to other International Series games with much more interest from the US and Europe.
– The capped attendance at Croke Park due to the seating installed on Hill 16 which, it has to be said, looks very fetching indeed. Seating was last installed on the Hill for a Republic of Ireland international in 2009.
– The figure in euro paid by the Irish government to the NFL to bring this game to Dublin. Plenty has been said about this outlay. Like it or not, big bodies like the NFL, FIFA and the IOC get to call all the shots when bringing their brand of circus to town.
– The predicted number of Stateside viewers that will tune in to the game, which gets underway at 2.30pm Irish time and 9.30am in the morning on America’s East Coast. A estimated 127.7 million people watched the last Super Bowl.
– The supposed worth, in euro, to the local economy of the game and all its trappings. As always, such figures are impossible to verify. A college game in the Aviva two years ago was said to be worth €180m due to the even higher number of American visitors.
– The value in dollars of Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s four-year deal, all but $30m (€25.6m) of it guaranteed. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is the league’s biggest earner. He gets $60m (€51.2m) for his work in 2025.
– The estimated value in dollars of the Steelers franchise. Top of the pile? The Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team, who come in at a cool $11bn (€9.4bn). Propping up the basement are the Cincinnati Bengals who would still cost a cool $5bn and change.
– The reported revenue generated by the NFL in 2024 alone, and a figure that leaves the league well on track to achieve a goal of $25bn (€21.3bn) by 2027, as stated by commissioner Roger Goodell 15 years ago. Staggering.
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