Dolphins ranked 31st in fan equity; 21st in social media equity

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Emory Sports Marketing Analytics has released their list of fan and social media equity in the NFL. The list, which is done each year, analyzes numbers using both revenues and social media. Fan equity is a measure of brand equity that is based on fans willingness to financially support their team.  Their rankings are based on the average Fan Equity score for the last three years. The Dallas Cowboys came in first and the Miami Dolphins came in at 31st. The last ranked team was the Oakland Raiders.

Their “Social Media Equity” measure is again based on an analysis of how strong each team’s social media following is after controlling for team quality and market characteristics. Social Media Equity therefore has some beneficial properties. Most importantly, it is not constrained by stadium capacities or team pricing policies.It also provides a means for capturing national level brand equity. They do recognize limitations to this metric, especially related to the choice of social media platforms and the “engagement” of followers. The Dolphins came in at 21st in this area and the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked number one. The last ranked team was the Arizona Cardinals.

It's certainly an interesting study but really all not that surprising. It's been known for quite some time that fans in Miami will come out and support the Dolphins when they are winning. When they're not, as has been the case for almost the past decade, there are too many other things to do in South Florida for the football fans to spend their hard earned money on a losing franchise. Let's hope that the team can turn it around in 2014 and re-capture the attention of South Florida.

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