(InvestigateTV) — More than a third of Americans plan to cut back on football-related spending this season because of the economy, according to a new LendingTree survey, even though many fans could still end up taking on hundreds of dollars in football-related debt.
LendingTree found almost half of Americans plan to spend money on their football fandom this year, down more than 10 percentage points from 65% last year. The survey covered a wide range of football-related costs, including game tickets, team merchandise, streaming subscriptions, and food and drinks for watch parties and tailgates.
Matt Schulz, with LendingTree, said football fans are feeling the same economic pressure affecting other areas of spending.
“As much as Americans love football, even football isn’t immune to the effects of inflation,” Schulz said. “We are seeing an awful lot of Americans who say that they’re going to spend at least a little bit less on football fandom this fall, and a big part of it is just because of the economy.”
For fans who still plan to spend on the season, Schulz recommends building football into the household budget as its own line item.
“It may seem a little silly to some to have a line item in your budget that says ‘football,’ but we don’t think anything of that when it comes to passions like travel and things like that,” Schulz said. “So if football is something that’s meaningful to you, that you spend an awful lot of money on and an awful lot of time on, you should have a line item for it.”
Schulz said budgeting specifically for football gives fans more control over their spending and allows them to pursue the hobby without creating larger financial problems.
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