nfl marketing research proposal

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Executive Summary

The National Football League is one of America’s largest forms of sports fandoms. NFL fans

tend to be extremely loyal to their teams, players, and coaches. When it comes to the NFL

organization, fans tend to have two opinions, either very strong, or could care less. Over the

past year the NFL has had a series of bad press regarding players and how the NFL

Commissioner, Roger Goodell is handling the issues.

The NFL needs to make a major change overall. The NFL Players need to understand that

even if they believe this is their job, they are also role models for future generations and how

they behave on and off the field is perceived as ‘appropriate’ behavior. Roger Goodell needs

to create a standard and bylaws for all NFL ‘employees’ which would include players,

coaches, and staff within the organization. Without a set of rules, Goodell has been able to

treat different players cases however he sees fit for each player instead of treating them all

equally.

The research throughout this proposal will show that the NFL has work to do in all aspects of

their organization. The research will be conducted directly with NFL fans. It includes a mix

of researching the US Census, social media analytics, qualitative analysis, and quantitative

analysis. This proposal will also outline how the information will be used once it is received.

The overall objective of this research is to gain the trust back from the fans and create a

unified front when it comes to organization policies.

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Background……………………………………….... 4 Research Objectives……………………………….. 6 Recommended Methodology……………………… 6 Research Design……………………………………………... 6 Exploratory…………………………………………………… 6 Descriptive……………………………………………………. 7 Causal…………………………………………………………. 7 Data Collection Method………………………………........... 8 US Census…………………………………………………….. 8 Social Media………………………………………………….. 9 Qualitative Research………………………………………….. 9 Quantitative Research……………………………………….... 11 Sample Plan………………………………………………….. 12 Analytical Plan………………………………………………. 14 Deliverables………………………………………… 16 Time Table…………………………………………. 31 Conclusion………………………………………….. 31 Appendices…………………………………………. 32 Appendix-A…………………………………………………... 32 Appendix-B…………………………………………………... 36 Appendix-C…………………………………………………... 42 Appendix-D…………………………………………………... 45 Appendix-E…………………………………………………... 53 References………………………………………….. 55

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Background

The National Football League was formed in 1920 under the name of the American

Professional Football Association (Klein, 2014). The APFA started with 12 teams, some of

which have changed owners and cities, while others were disbanded (Pro Football HOF,

2014). Today, the NFL is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, with 32 teams throughout the

country (Klein, 2014). NFL teams play 16 games in a 17-week period. The major event in the

NFL is the Super Bowl, which is the most watched sporting event of all time (Brown, 2014).

NFL Players may not be role models in the sense that all children will be able to be

professional athletes, but athletes are showing children how to use their heart, have initiative,

and that hard work can change a community (Steinberg, 2013).

In the past few years, there has been a rise of bad press attached to NFL players. In the past

15 years, the average amount of NFL players arrested per year is 52 (USA Today, 2014).

Year Number of Arrests

2014 48 2013 62 2012 47 2011 48 2010 54 2009 52 2008 68 2007 63 2006 71 2005 48 2004 39 2003 43 2002 43 2001 44 2000 39

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In July 2014, the NFL suspended Ray Rice, with the Baltimore Ravens, for two games, for

knocking his fiancée unconscious. There has been a rise in domestic violence arrests in the

NFL over the years, with a total of 83 domestic violence arrests. “Domestic violence

accounts for 48 percent of arrests for violent crimes among NFL players, compared to our

estimated 21 percent nationally” (Morris, 2014). Not until the video of Ray Rice knocking

out his, then fiancée, surfaced through TMZ, did the NFL take action against Ray Rice for

more than a two game suspension. The NFL felt a lot of pressure at that time to make a

drastic statement to indefinitely suspend Ray Rice. After, there was a lot of speculation on if

the NFL covered up the event before it was released to the press. “The NFL initially

suspended Rice for two games prior to TMZ releasing video of his domestic abuse. Rice's

legal team allegedly contends he deserves a suspension no longer than the new NFL policy of

six games for first-time offenders because commissioner Roger Goodell was made aware of

what was on the video” (Rohrbach, 2014, para 3). On December 1, 2014, Ray Rice won his

appeal against an indefinite suspension and was reinstated to the NFL (ESPN, 2014). Ray

Rice is not the only NFL player this year that has been arrested for domestic violence. Since

the beginning of 2014, 4 other players have been arrested for domestic violence.

The other major NFL player that has been involved in the news in 2014 is Minnesota

Vikings’ Running Back, Adrian Peterson. On September 17, 2014, Adrian Peterson was

arrested on recklessly injuring his 4-year-old son (Mello, 2014). The problem with the NFL

doesn’t just involve the NFL Players, but how the NFL Commissioner handles these issues.

The research conducted in this proposal will give insight into the views of NFL fans and if

there is a relationship between the NFL Organization and viewership of the sport.

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Research Objectives

The objectives of this study would be to assist the NFL Organization conduct research:

• To determine how fans perceive Roger Goodell as NFL Commissioner

• To compare how the NFL is viewer compared to other professional sports

• To establish if bad press effects NFL viewership

Recommended Methodology

Research Design

Exploratory

Exploratory research is generally the initial research conducted to understand a concept

(McDaniel & Gates, 2013). For the situation in the NFL, three types of exploratory

research can be conducted in order to gather the information needed to redefine the

NFL’s image.

1. “Experience surveys involve talking with knowledgeable individuals, both inside and

outside the organizations, who may provide insights into the problem” (McDaniel &

Gates, 2013, p. 37). For this research, I would suggest that the NFL talk to coaches and

players that are viewed as leaders, inside the organization. They should also talk to

lawyers, domestic violence counselors, and reporters from the major sports networks like,

ESPN, NBC, FOX, CBS, and even other sports organizations like the MLB, NBA, NHL,

MLS, etc.

2. Secondary data analysis is data that’s gathered for a reason unrelated to the situation

(McDaniel & Gates, 2013). Secondary data can include TV viewership like I talked about

above, and data about NFL player’s arrests.

3. Case analysis is information from other situations that are similar to the current research

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problem (McDaniel & Gates). Unfortunately, the situation that the NFL is currently in

has happened before in all different sports organizations. Research can be done on how

other Leagues handled the situation. In 2006, Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies was

arrested for domestic violence. The MLB was criticized for how they handled the

situation (Associated Press, ESPN, 2006).

Descriptive

“Descriptive studies are conducted to answer who, what, when, where, and how

questions” (McDaniel & Gates, 2013). With this type of research the NFL could focus

more on how to regain the trust of their fans and gain a positive image. Surveys should be

given to current NFL fans. For example, if the fan knows about the participation of teams

in philanthropy. In the surveys for fans, the NFL can get demographic and lifestyle

information. This will help determine who is more likely to change their view of the NFL

after a certain time period and major changes are implemented within the organization.

Causal

The last basic type of research is causal studies. “In causal studies, the researcher

investigates whether the value of one variable causes or determines the value of another

variable in an attempt to establish linkage between them” (McDaniel & Gates, 2013).

This type of research for the NFL should include an experimental design. Experimental

design refers to a test in which the researcher has control over and manipulates one or

more independent variables (McDaniel & Gates, 2013, p. 187). The design for this

research will be A/B testing. The experimental design for the NFL for this research

problem is a true experimental design with a traditional test market. The independent

variable that the NFL will be manipulating is negative press and headlines when you

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enter the NFL’s website. The dependent variable that the NFL will measure is how many

sales for tickets or how much apparel is purchased through the NFL’s website after

seeing the negative press. The test subjects will be any NFL fan that visits the NFL

website within the next 6 months. It will be conducted as a before and after with control

group design and the test subjects will be chosen at random. The NFL will set up a cookie

that will activate when a visitor clicks on tickets (to buy them) or shop (for apparel) and it

will only select half of the visitors that buy tickets or apparel. The control group will be

the visitors without the cookie and the experimental group will be the visitors with the

cookie. The people with the cookie will only see a negative headline when they open the

NFL website again. After the experiment we will see if the negative ad being the first

thing the fan sees on the website affects overall sales.

Data Collection Method

The methods outlined below will be best suited for the NFL’s research. The methods will

include collection of information from the United States Census, collection of social media

data, qualitative research, and quantitative research.

US Census

The focus for the National Football League research is to find out if negative press affects

the viewership and buying behavior of NFL fans. One of the marketing research

objectives is to determine the demographic profile of a typical NFL fan. While searching

through the Census some very useful data and information was found. Some information

on the US Census pertains directly to the NFL and information surrounding Domestic

Violence in the US. Considering the bad press this year has been about domestic

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violence, looking at statistics of the crime would be helpful in understanding the negative

press. All of the US Census tables are located in Appendix-A.

Social Media The social media analytics are located in the Appendix-B. After searching through

several different social media analytical tools, a few social media marketing strategies for

the NFL have been determined.

• Change timing of Facebook posts from between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST to between

the times of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST within the next 6 months

• Ask more questions on Facebook and Twitter to create a conversation between fans

and the NFL before the Super Bowl in February of 2015

• Respond to fans posts on Facebook and tweets on Twitter to show that the NFL cares

about their fans within the next two months

These three objectives will help the NFL interact with their fans through social media,

which will create a positive brand relationship between fans of teams to fans of the

National Football League.

Qualitative Research

The qualitative research will include a series of focus groups. The recruitment criteria for

these focus groups are:

• 6 Groups – 8 Participants in each group

• Separated by Sex and then by Class

Men Women Class 18-34

18-34 Blue Collar – manual labor Pink Collar – service industry White Collar – professional, managerial, administrative work

35-49

35-49

50-65

50-65

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• At least 1 of each race in each group, preferably 2 White Hispanic Asian African American

• ¼ of participants should have gone to college on scholarship for athletics

• ½ of participants should have children

• ½ participants must have attended at least 1 NFL game

• ¾ should watch the NFL on TV

• At least ½ should play Fantasy Football

The discussion topics for the focus groups are listed in Appendix-C. For a focus group

facility, the NFL should use:

SIS International Market Research 11 East 22nd Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 505-6805 Web: www.sismarketresearch.com Contact: Ruth Stanat, President SIS International Market Research as the focus group facility for the NFL is the right

choice because of several reasons. SIS conducts several forms of research methods:

• Primary Custom Research

• Secondary Custom Research

• Digital Research Methods

• NYC Focus Groups

Since NFL Headquarters are located in New York City, it is a good idea to hold a focus

group near headquarters and in a city that hosts two NFL teams, it’s a good meeting

ground. This ensures that there will be a variety of demographics in the focus group.

Another reason that SIS is a good fit for the NFL is the fact that they can host an online

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focus group and other qualitative research methods and the NFL wouldn’t have to change

companies to assist with all of their research needs. SIS was listed in the American

Marketing Association 2014 Directory of Focus Group Facilities & Moderators.

Quantitative Research

The quantitative research being conducted in the research proposal will be a an Internet

survey.

Interviewer Instructions

This questionnaire will be sent out through the Internet. The NFL will be using

Sawtooth Software to conduct this quantitative research. This survey will end after

384 people have completed it. The 384 respondents will be chosen randomly through

a list of emails on the NFL database of:

• NFL ticket purchasers within the past 2 years that

• NFL Social Media Followers

• Fantasy Football League Owners

• NFL package holders through cable or satellite

• NFL Now subscribers

The screening questions at the beginning of the questionnaire will give the population

of interest that the NFL wants to respond to this survey.

Screening Questions

The screening questions will be place at the beginning of the survey. If at the end of

the 5 screening questions they did not answer YES to at least one question, their

survey will end. The pop-up screen that will come up for the respondents that finish

after question 5 will be a coupon for $5 off any purchase in the NFL Store online and

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will have links to NFL’s social media for them to “like” or “follow.”

Questionnaire

After the 5 screening questions, if the respondent answers YES to at least one

question, the survey will continue and the first 5 screening questions will be defined

as “warm-up” questions. The questionnaire will be split equally into three types of

questions: transitions, difficult and complicated questions, and classifying and

demographic questions.

Demographics

The demographic questions will be asked at the end and used as information for the

respondent to be entered in a random drawing to win two VIP tickets to Super Bowl

50 on February 7, 2016 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The VIP tickets include two

round-trip airline tickets to San Francisco, a hotel suite for 3 nights, two tickets to the

game, and transportation on game day.

The example of the full questionnaire is located in Appendix-D.

Sample Plan

Population of Interest

Geographic Area

The National Football League is located in the US, therefore the population of interest

should be from the United States of America

Demographic Characteristics

The demographics for the population of interest should include men and women, age

25 to 60, and college educated.

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Behaviors

The population of interest’s behaviors should include at least one of the

following:

• Attended an NFL game

• Pay for NFL packages through cable or satellite

• Play Fantasy Football

• Like or Follow NFL on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites

Data Collection Method

Internet Survey

Even though internet surveys have problems with professional respondents and the e-

mail list may not represent the population of interest, because the NFL fan base is all

over the United States, internet surveys are the most practical and least expensive

(McDaniel & Gates, 2013). Specifically, the Internet survey would be offered to

recruited samples.

Sampling Method Recommended

• Non-Probability Sampling

• Quota Samples

Sampling Frame

The sampling frame for the online survey will be e-mails from recruited samples that

fall within the population of interest characteristics and will be retrieved through:

• NFL ticket purchasers within the past 2 years that

• NFL Social Media Followers

• Fantasy Football League Owners

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• NFL package holders through cable or satellite

• NFL Now subscribers

The number of units for this sampling frame should be the sample size increased by

30% to compensate for a lack of completion rate, 1,020 emails should be sent out to

the population of interest.

Sample Size

The population was estimated through the NFL’s social media following and the 2010

US Census Table 1246.

• NFL Twitter – 7.87M

• NFL Facebook – 11.81M

• NFL Regular Season Attendance – 2.5M

After figuring out the average between social media following and NFL regular

season attendance, the average would be approximately 8 million people. Figuring

that these 8 million people fall into the population of interest, with the acceptable

level of confidence at 95% and the acceptable level of sampling error at 5%, the

sample size would be 384.

Sampling Error

The sample error that could occur with this type of quantitative research is random

error. The NFL doesn’t have the funds to do a census for this research problem, so the

sample is the best choice because of money and time constraints.

Analytical Plan

After the sample size, 384 respondents, have completed the online questionnaire, the NFL

will begin the data analysis procedure.

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Validation and Editing

Since the questionnaire will be given through SSI Web, editing is built into the software. If

for whatever reason a few surveys were not taken online, validation and editing would need

to occur. If a survey is given via telephone, then the respondent must be contacted again to

ensure that they were actually the respondent, that the survey was given properly, and the

screening questions were asked before moving on to the rest of the questionnaire. If a survey

is printed and handed to a respondent to fill out, editing must occur. The NFL would need to

make sure the answers are legible and if the questions were filled out completely.

Coding

On the Questionnaire written for the NFL there is a total of 5 open-ended questions. With the

questionnaire being given online, data entry and coding for closed ended questions is

eliminated because the SSI Web system automatically codes the answers. One of the 5 open-

ended questions is information about the respondent, so there will not need to be any coding

for that question. The information will need to be recorded in the NFL database for future use

and for the Super Bowl 50 VIP tickets raffle. For the other four open-ended questions, the

NFL will have to go through the coding process, which is located on Appendix-E.

Data Entry

For this step, the NFL will need to enter the data into the computer that will be processing the

information.

Logical Cleaning of Data

The NFL should use IBM’s SPSS software to perform the analytics. Before starting the

analysis, a final computerized error data check. At this point the questionnaire will be

checked again for any missing information and to make sure coding is complete.

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Deliverables

After all of the data has been collected and analyzed, the information will be put into a

PowerPoint presentation and shared with the National Football League’s Organization. The

completed questionnaires will also be available for the NFL. For the data’s tabulation and

statistical analysis the NFL will use the data from the questionnaire to create several different

analyses.

Descriptive Analysis

One-Way Frequency Tables Example:

Q.1 Have you ever attended an NFL game? Total

Total 384 100%

Yes 185 48.2%

No 199 51.8%

Questions to evaluate with one-way frequency tables:

1. Have you ever attended an NFL game?

0 Yes 0 No

2. Do you have a subscription to the NFL package through your cable/satellite provider?

0 Yes 0 No

3. Do you “like” or “follow” the NFL on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

5. Do you play Fantasy Football?

0 Yes 0 No

8. If you were to attend an NFL game, what’s the most you would pay per ticket?

$0 – $49

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$50 – $99 $100 – $149 $150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 +

9. If you’ve been to an NFL game, how much did you pay per ticket?

$0 – $49 $50 – $99 $100 – $149 $150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 + I’ve never purchased an NFL ticket

13. Out of this list, who is your favorite NFL Player?

Tom Brady Adrian Peterson Drew Brees Troy Polamalu Jay Cutler Ray Rice Robert Griffin III Aaron Rodgers Rob Gronkowski Tony Romo Colin Kaepernick Richard Sherman Andrew Luck Ndamukong Suh Marshawn Lynch Michael Vick Eli Manning J.J. Watt Peyton Manning Russell Wilson

14. Out of the same list who is your least favorite NFL Player?

Tom Brady Adrian Peterson Drew Brees Troy Polamalu Jay Cutler Ray Rice Robert Griffin III Aaron Rodgers Rob Gronkowski Tony Romo Colin Kaepernick Richard Sherman Andrew Luck Ndamukong Suh

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Marshawn Lynch Michael Vick Eli Manning J.J. Watt Peyton Manning Russell Wilson

21. What is your gender?

Male Female

22. What is your age in years?

Under 12 12-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75 or older

23. Please specify your ethnicity.

White Hispanic or Latino Black or African American Native American Asian/Pacific Islander Other

24. Are you a citizen of the United States?

0 Yes 0 No

25.What is the highest level of education you have completed? If currently enrolled,

highest degree received.

No schooling completed Nursery school to 8th grade Some high school, no diploma High school graduate, diploma or equivalent (i.e., GED) Some college credit, no degree

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Trade/technical/vocational training Associate degree Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Professional degree Doctorate degree

26. What is your marital status?

Single, never married Married or domestic partnership Widowed Divorced Separated

27. Are you currently…?

Employed for wages Self-employed Out of work and looking Out of work, but not currently looking Homemaker Student Military Retired Unable to work

28. Is your annual income before taxes…?

Under $50,000 Above $50,000

29. Would you like to be entered into a random drawing to win two Super Bowl 50 VIP

tickets?

0 Yes 0 No

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Multiple-Response Frequency Table Example:

Q.6 Which Fantasy Football platforms do you currently use? Total Respondents Total Responses Total 384 1,086 100% 100% NFL.com 142 142 36.9% 13% Yahoo 268 268 69.7% 24.7% ESPN 216 216 56.3% 19.9% Fox Sports 112 112 29.2% 10.3% CBS Sports 196 196 51% 18% My Fantasy League 56 56 14.6% 5.1% FleaFlicker 42 42 11% 3.8% Fanduel 24 24 6.3% 2.2% I don’t play Fantasy Football 30 30 7.8% 2.7% Questions to evaluate using multiple-response frequency tables:

6. Which Fantasy Football platforms do you currently use?

NFL.com Yahoo ESPN Fox Sports CBS Sports My Fantasy League FleaFlicker FanDuel I don’t play Fantasy Football

10. Which NFL team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3)

Arizona Cardinals Miami Dolphins Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings Baltimore Ravens New England Patriots Buffalo Bills New Orleans Saints Carolina Panthers New York Giants

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Chicago Bears New York Jets Cincinnati Bengals Oakland Raiders Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks Houston Texans St. Louis Rams Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans Kansas City Chiefs Washington Redskins

By doing a descriptive analysis, the NFL will be able to get a base line of information on the

questions written above. The SPSS software will then be able to give us frequencies,

percentages, mean, median, and modes, and range, variance, and standard deviation. This is a

good base line of information, especially for the demographic questions because then the NFL

will be able to find the mean or average NFL fan.

Inferential Analysis

With Inferential Analysis, the NFL will be able to test the original hypotheses for their

research.

Original Research Hypotheses

• NFL fans are American citizens, predominantly male, age 12 to 65.

o Null hypothesis: Mean NFL fan ≠ American Citizen

o Alternative hypothesis: Mean NFL fan = American Citizen

o Null hypothesis: Mean NFL fan’s gender ≠ male

o Alternative hypothesis: Mean NFL fan’s gender = male

o Null hypothesis: Mean NFL fan’s age range ≠ 25-34

o Alternative hypothesis: Mean NFL fan’s age range = 25-34

The NFL should use a Z test for one mean for the demographic hypothesis test.

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For the hypothesis about viewership/following compared to other major league sports

questions need to be added to the questionnaire. Questions to be added should include:

1. Have you ever attended an NBA game?

0 Yes 0 No

2. Have you ever attended an NHL game?

0 Yes 0 No

3. Have you ever attended an MLB game?

0 Yes 0 No

4. Have you ever attended an MLS game?

0 Yes 0 No

5. Do you have a subscription to the NBA package through your cable/satellite provider?

0 Yes 0 No

6. Do you have a subscription to the NHL package through your cable/satellite provider?

0 Yes 0 No

7. Do you have a subscription to the MLB package through your cable/satellite provider?

0 Yes 0 No

8. Do you have a subscription to the MLS package through your cable/satellite provider?

0 Yes 0 No

9. Do you “like” or “follow” the NBA on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

10. Do you “like” or “follow” the NHL on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

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11. Do you “like” or “follow” the MLB on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

12. Do you “like” or “follow” the MLS on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

13. Do you play Fantasy Basketball?

0 Yes 0 No

14. Do you play Fantasy Hockey?

0 Yes 0 No

15. Do you play Fantasy Baseball?

0 Yes 0 No

16. Do you play Fantasy Soccer?

0 Yes 0 No

17. Which NBA team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3) Atlanta Hawks Miami Heat Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks Brooklyn Nets Minnesota Timberwolves Charlotte Hornets New Orleans Pelicans Chicago Bulls New York Knicks Cleveland Cavaliers Oklahoma City Thunder Dallas Mavericks Orlando Magic Denver Nuggets Philadelphia 76ers Detroit Pistons Phoenix Suns Golden State Warriors Portland Trail Blazers Houston Rockets Sacramento Kings Indiana Pacers San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers Toronto Raptors Los Angeles Lakers Utah Jazz Memphis Grizzlies Washington Wizards

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18. Which NHL team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3) Anaheim Ducks Montreal Canadiens Arizona Coyotes Nashville Predators Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders Calgary Flames New York Rangers Carolina Hurricanes Ottawa Senators Chicago Blackhawks Philadelphia Flyers Colorado Avalanche Pittsburgh Penguins Columbus Blue Jackets San Jose Sharks Dallas Stars St. Louis Blues Detroit Red Wings Tampa Bay Lightning Edmonton Oilers Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Washington Capitals Minnesota Wild Winnipeg Jets

19. Which MLB team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3) Arizona Diamondbacks Milwaukee Brewers Atlanta Braves Minnesota Twins Baltimore Orioles New York Mets Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Chicago Cubs Oakland Athletics Chicago White Sox Philadelphia Phillies Cincinnati Reds Pittsburgh Pirates Cleveland Indians San Diego Padres Colorado Rockies San Francisco Giants Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners Houston Astros St. Louis Cardinals Kansas City Royals Tampa Bay Rays Los Angeles Angels Texas Rangers Los Angeles Dodgers Toronto Blue Jays Miami Marlins Washington Nationals

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20. Which MLS team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3) Chicago Fire New York Red Bulls Chivas USA Philadelphia Union Colorado Rapids Portland Timbers Columbus Crew Real Salt Lake D.C. United San Jose Earthquakes FC Dallas Seattle Sounders FC Houston Dynamo Sporting Kansas City Los Angeles Galaxy Toronto FC Montreal Impact Vancouver Whitecaps New England Revolution

Differences Analysis

There is multiple differences analysis that can be evaluated from the survey that would be

interesting for the NFL. For the differences analysis the NFL can use any nominal variable that

was analyzed in the descriptive analysis.

Cross-Tabulation Example:

Q.3 Do you ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the NFL on social media? Total Male Female Total 384 272 112 100% 100% 100% Yes 240 125 90 62.5% 46% 80.4% No 144 147 22 37.5% 54% 19.6% Using this analysis the NFL could figure out how a certain gender feels about the following

questions:


0 Yes 0 No


0 Yes 0 No

3. Do you “like” or “follow” the NFL on social media?

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0 Yes 0 No


0 Yes 0 No



6. How likely are you to attend on of these sporting events?

Extremely Likely Very Likely Somewhat Likely Not Very Likely Not at all Likely MLB 0 0 0 0 0 NFL 0 0 0 0 0 NHL 0 0 0 0 0 NBA 0 0 0 0 0 MLS 0 0 0 0 0


$0 – $49 $50 – $99 $100 – $149 $150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 +


$0 – $49 $50 – $99 $100 – $149

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$150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 + I’ve never purchased an NFL ticket

9. Which NFL team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3)

Arizona Cardinals Miami Dolphins Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings Baltimore Ravens New England Patriots Buffalo Bills New Orleans Saints Carolina Panthers New York Giants Chicago Bears New York Jets Cincinnati Bengals Oakland Raiders Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks Houston Texans St. Louis Rams Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans Kansas City Chiefs Washington Redskins




Tom Brady Adrian Peterson Drew Brees Troy Polamalu Jay Cutler Ray Rice Robert Griffin III Aaron Rodgers

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Rob Gronkowski Tony Romo Colin Kaepernick Richard Sherman Andrew Luck Ndamukong Suh Marshawn Lynch Michael Vick Eli Manning J.J. Watt Peyton Manning Russell Wilson

12. For each pair of adjectives, please put an “X” at the point, which reflects your current view of the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell?

Honest ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Dishonest Fair ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Biased

Strong ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Weak Wise ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Foolish

Active ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Passive Good ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Bad

Reliable ––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+–––––––––+––––––––––+––––––––+–––– Unreliable 0 No Opinion

13. Using the same list of adjectives please put an “X” at the point, which reflects your current

view of the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver?






view of the NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman?





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15. Using the same list of adjectives please put an “X” at the point, which reflects your view of

the newly retired MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig?






view of the MLS Commissioner, Don Garber?





Associative Analysis

The NFL will be able to use multiple statistical procedures to get a more in depth analysis of the

questionnaire.

Correlation Analysis

For the correlation analysis the NFL can figure out if an NFL fans income correlates with

how much the fan is willing to spend on an NFL ticket. The third variable for this equation

could be the number of NFL teams because the fan would have to go to one of the 32

stadiums if they are willing to purchase a ticket.

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Cluster Analysis

A cluster analysis will help the NFL with figuring out a subgroup within the demographics.

• Cluster 1 includes people that are not at all likely to attend an NFL game or any other

professional sport.

• Cluster 2 includes people that are extremely likely to attend an NFL game but only

somewhat likely to attend any other professional sport.

• Cluster 3 includes people that are extremely likely to attend an NFL game and any other

professional sport.

The cluster analysis can also be used on figuring out a subgroup between NFL social media

followers and NFL game attendees or Fantasy Football players that do attend NFL Games.

Factor Analysis

Through factor analysis the NFL will be able to determine fans as categories between:

• NFL Enthusiast: A person who has attended an NFL game, follows the NFL on

Social Media, plays Fantasy Football and is up on current information.

• NFL Band-wagoner: A person who tends to like NFL teams or players that are doing

well at the time of the survey.

• What is Football? Fan: A person who doesn’t know anything about football, but has

attended a game and is willing to pay more money for seats. This type of fan would

have also answered ‘No Opinion’ to all of the questions about the commissioners.

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Time Table

Task Timing Gathering of data 6 days Social Media analytics 3 days Focus groups 2 weeks Survey programming and quality control 5 days Data collection 12 weeks Final data tabulations 3 days Final report 1-2 weeks TOTAL 4 MONTHS

Conclusion

After this research is conducted over the 4-month time period given, the NFL will be certain of

how to effectively reach their fans and what needs to be done moving forward with Roger

Goodell as NFL Commissioner. The questionnaire and focus groups will provide enough

information from a wide variety of the NFL fan base with their views on the current situations in

the NFL. This research will also give information regarding who the NFL fans are and if they are

actively involved with current events and social media.

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Appendices

Appendix-A

Table 1244 shows the summary of College and Professional Football from 1990-2010. It breaks

down the attendance for NCAA and NFL, number of teams in college and professional and NFL

players’ salaries.

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Table 1245 shows selected spectator sports from 1990 to 2010. It breaks down information more

in depth between Baseball, Basketball, NHL and Professional Rodeo. This table is useful

because it shows player salaries for Major League Baseball compared to table 1244 which shows

National Football League Salaries.

Table 1246 shows adult attendance at sporting events for fall 2010. The data was collected

through a survey. This table is useful not only for the NFL information, but it’s nice to have a

comparison between other sporting events. This data shows that NFL games on Monday or

Thursday nights had a regular attendance of 1,119,000. NFL weekend games, (Sunday games),

had a regular attendance of 1,377,000. The playoff games and Super Bowl only had an

attendance of 829,000. The difference between attendances between regular season games to

playoff games is from a lack of seating, since there are 32 teams that play during the regular

season at 16 stadiums almost every weekend, but only 8 teams get to playoffs with two wild card

teams that play first.

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This graph from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that from 1994 to 2013, domestic

violence against an intimate partner declined faster than immediate family or other relative. This

report http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/c-

span/2014/20141010_cspan_domestic_violence.pdf shows that “domestic violence accounted for

21% of all violent victimizations” (Planty, 2014). This information will be useful because it can

be compared to the rate of NFL players committing domestic violence against the national

average of domestic violence.

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This table shows all NFL Player arrests in the last 15 years for domestic violence. This is the

information that can be used to compare to the national average of domestic violence statistics.

For the rest of NFL Player arrests and all categories of arrests go to USA Today.

Date Team Name Pos Case Category Description Outcome9/17/14 ARI Jonathan Dwyer RB Arrested Domestic violence

Suspected of aggravated assault in incident involving woman. Resolution undetermined.

9/4/14 NYJ Quincy Enunwa WR ArrestedDomestic violence

Charged with simple assault after alleged incident with woman at hotel in Florham Park, N.J.

Dropped after alleged victim said she didn't want to pursue the case.

8/30/14 SF Ray McDonald DE ArrestedDomestic violence

Suspected of domestic violence against pregnant fiance, who showed police bruising on her body. Dropped by prosecutors.

5/13/14 CAR Greg Hardy DE Arrested

Domestic violence

Police responded to call and reported that a woman accused Hardy of assaulting her and threatening her.

Convicted by judge on assault charge, 18 months probation. Played first game of 2014 before being deactivated.

2/15/14 BAL Ray Rice RB Arrested

Domestic violence

Accused of striking his wife at Atlantic City casino, rendering her unconscious. She also is accused of hitting him.

Diversion program. Two-game suspension, then indefinite suspension, cut by team.

11/25/13 MIN A.J. Jefferson CB Arrested

Domestic violenceTaken to jail by Eden Prairie police on probable cause of domestic assault.

Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor, suspended jail sentence. Cut by team hours later.

5/3/13 ARI Daryl Washington LB ArrestedDomestic violence

Accused of assaulting ex-girlfriend, grabbing her by throat and shoving her to the ground.

Pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, one year of supervised probation.

4/18/13 ATL William Moore S Arrested Domestic violenceAccused of grabbing woman by shoulder in dispute, charged with simple battery. Resolution undetermined.

3/26/13 DET Amari Spievey S ArrestedDomestic violence

Accused of third-degree assault, risk of injury to a child and disorderly conduct in dispute with girlfriend about child support.

Diversion program. Released from team in August.

1/29/13 SEA Leroy Hill LB ArrestedDomestic violence

Accused of third-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment in dispute with girlfriend.

Charges dropped for lack of evidence. Not re-signed by Seattle.

1/10/13 PIT Chris Rainey RB Arrested

Domestic violenceAccused of slapping girlfriend in face in dispute over cell phone.

Pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct, $500 in fines and costs. Released by team hours later.

1/4/13 CIN Robert Sands S ArrestedDomestic violence

Accused of assaulting his wife at their home in Florence, Ky. Wife treated at hospital for minor injuries. Released by team in June.

10/31/12 NYJ Bryan Thomas LB ArrestedDomestic violence

Charged with assault on wife at their New Jersey home. He allegedly punched her in stomach.

Probation, pretrial intervention program.

NFL PLAYER ARRESTS

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Appendix-B

Google Trends was used to compare the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS to see which

professional sport has been the most talked about within the last 10 years.

This graph shows that the two most talked about professional sports are the NFL and the NBA

switching back and forth between popularity depending on the month.

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Google Correlate was used to compare if the NFL was searched for more on the Internet than

head coaches and then another correlation chart to see the NFL compared to individual

quarterbacks.

These graphs show that the NFL as an organization is searched less on the Internet than

individual quarterbacks and head coaches.

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Likealyzer is used to review Facebook pages and give tips on how to enhance the user

experience. The NFL page along with all other professional sports Facebook pages were

analyzed to be able to do a comparison between the five pages.

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The results from LikeAlyzer are organized from highest to lowest score between the five most

popular professional sport pages. NFL is doing the best on Facebook, but there are a lot of areas

that still needs to be strengthened to change the overall image of the NFL.

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Topsy was used to search the topic of the NFL over a 30 day period. The Topsy Sentiment Score

was a 70. Through the Topsy search I was able to get a better understanding of what exactly

people were talking about with the NFL and what was important to them. Several tweets from

this past weekend’s football games were about individual players, teams and playoffs, scores

from Sunday Football. I also noticed that on Monday Night Football on November 10, a new

commercial aired with NFL players and coaches, past and present, about the No More campaign.

Also, because it was a day before Veteran’s Day, the NFL Monday Night Football Game, did a

tribute to veterans, this became one of the most positive topics talked about.

The Topsy analytics show that certain days within the past month, the NFL was talked about

more than others; after looking at the headline associated with the highest amount of mentions, I

found that the highest mentioned day had to do with Ray Rice possibly being reinstated within a

month and it was tweeted by Yahoo Sports.

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Appendix-C

Focus Group Discussion Topics

I. Introduction

Purpose: Establish group dynamics and put participants at ease.

• Favorite season of the year?

• What do you like to watch on TV?

• Where do you tend to watch sports games?

• Favorite sports teams?

II. Top of Mind Associations

Purpose: To get participants to speak broadly about a topic without strong directional lead

from the moderator.

• When I say the following words, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

[Looking for if they associate with negative news reports (Domestic Abuse,

Concussions, etc.)]

o Football

o Baseball

o Hockey

o Tackle

o NFL

o NFL Players Association (NFLPA)

o Baltimore Ravens

o Roger Goodell

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III. In-Depth look at problem in the NFL

Purpose: To define range of opinion in the group concerning problem and to determine

readiness.

• Some of you mentioned Domestic Abuse when you heard NFLPA because of several

players that have been arrested… let’s talk about the players… (Probe: why do you

associate all of the players with domestic abuse?

o How serious is domestic abuse to you?

o How do you expect the NFL to handle cases where players are being charged with

a crime?

• When I said Roger Goodell, a majority of you said he should be fired. Why should he

be fired?

o On a scale of 1-10, where would you rate how Roger Goodell handles running

NFL day-to-day operations?

o On a scale of 1-10, how did Roger Goodell handle the situations with players in

the past year?

IV. Conclusion

Purpose: To find out about spokespersons, media channels and other communication

channels and bring the group to a close.

• Are there certain people that you would like to see as a spokesperson for the NFL?

• If you saw a commercial about the NFL giving back or philanthropic events by

players, would it be convincing?

• What if you saw players writing articles/blog posts or social media posts about

helping a cause?

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• What would you think if NFL teams got involved with more causes or gave a portion

of proceeds from things like tickets, apparel, etc. to a cause?

Is there anything else you want to share about the NFL? Thanks and wrap up.

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Appendix-D

NFL Questionnaire

In light of recent events that have occurred in the 2014-15 NFL season, the NFL is conducting

research regarding fan appreciation and customer service, the league’s image, and management

decision. The NFL appreciates your time.


0 Yes 0 No


0 Yes 0 No

19. Do you ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the NFL on social media?

0 Yes 0 No

20. If YES, which social media?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


0 Yes 0 No



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23. How likely are you to attend one of these sporting events?

Extremely Likely Very Likely Somewhat Likely Not Very Likely Not at all Likely MLB 0 0 0 0 0 NFL 0 0 0 0 0 NHL 0 0 0 0 0 NBA 0 0 0 0 0 MLS 0 0 0 0 0


$0 – $49 $50 – $99 $100 – $149 $150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 +


$0 – $49 $50 – $99 $100 – $149 $150 – $199 $200 – $249 $250 – $299 $300 + I’ve never purchased an NFL ticket

WVU•IMC•611 47

26. Which NFL team is your favorite? (Choose up to 3) Arizona Cardinals Miami Dolphins Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings Baltimore Ravens New England Patriots Buffalo Bills New Orleans Saints Carolina Panthers New York Giants Chicago Bears New York Jets Cincinnati Bengals Oakland Raiders Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions San Francisco 49ers Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks Houston Texans St. Louis Rams Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans Kansas City Chiefs Washington Redskins

27. Which current NFL Quarter Back’s jersey would you choose to wear?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

28. List three adjectives that you want in a professional athlete.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––



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31. For each pair of adjectives, please put an “X” at the point, which reflects your current view of the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell?






view of the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver?





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view of the NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman?





34. Using the same list of adjectives please put an “X” at the point, which reflects your view of

the newly retired MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig?






view of the MLS Commissioner, Don Garber?





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36. If you were the commissioner of a national sports league, list three adjectives that you would

want people to use to describe your leadership.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

37. What is your gender?

Male Female

38. What is your age in years?

Under 12 12-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75 or older

39. Please specify your ethnicity.

White Hispanic or Latino Black or African American Native American Asian/Pacific Islander Other

40. Are you a citizen of the United States?

0 Yes 0 No

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41. What is the highest level of education you have completed? If currently enrolled, highest

degree received.

No schooling completed Nursery school to 8th grade Some high school, no diploma High school graduate, diploma or equivalent (i.e., GED) Some college credit, no degree Trade/technical/vocational training Associate degree Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Professional degree Doctorate degree

42. What is your marital status?

Single, never married Married or domestic partnership Widowed Divorced Separated

43. Are you currently…?

Employed for wages Self-employed Out of work and looking Out of work, but not currently looking Homemaker Student Military Retired Unable to work

44. Is your annual income before taxes…?

Under $50,000 Above $50,000

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45. Would you like to be entered into a random drawing to win two Super Bowl 50 VIP tickets?

0 Yes 0 No

46. If YES, please fill out this personal information:

First Name: Last Name:

Street Address: City: State: Zip:

Email: Phone: Cell:

We will be drawing for the winner of the VIP tickets to Super Bowl 50 at the first game of the

2015-16 NFL Season and will be announced during the game. On the following day we will call

the winner and send an email with further instructions. Thank you for taking the time to answer

this questionnaire. Please remember that your opinion counts!

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Appendix-E

I.List the responses

The four open-ended questions are:

1. IF YES, which social media?

Sample Responses: Facebook Twitter Instagram Tumblr Google+ Pinterest

2. Which current NFL Quarter Back’s jersey would you choose to wear?

Sample Responses: Carson Palmer Matt Ryan Joe Flacco EJ Manuel Cam Newton Jay Cutler Andy Dalton Johnny Manziel Tony Romo Peyton Manning Matt Stafford Aaron Rodgers Ryan Fitzpatrick Andrew Luck Chad Henne Alex Smith Ryan Tannehill Teddy Bridgewater Tom Brady Drew Brees Eli Manning Geno Smith Matt Schaub Nick Foles Ben Roethlisberger Phil Rivers Colin Kaepernick Russell Wilson Sam Bradford Josh McCown Jake Locker Robert Griffin III

3. List three adjectives that you want in a professional athlete.

4. If you were the commissioner of a national sports league, list three adjectives that you

would want people to use to describe your leadership.

For both question #3 and #4, a list of adjectives will be compiled.

II.Consolidate the responses

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For question #1 there should only be a possible 10 responses given, to consolidate make

sure they spelled the social media site correctly. If the respondent wrote ‘All of Them’ then

separate that response into each social media name given by other respondents. For question

#2 there could be more than 32 answers given. Make sure that if they wrote the team name

and then QB (i.e., Oakland Raiders’ QB), count that as a response for Matt Schaub. Lastly,

for questions #3 and #4 after compiling a list of adjectives used make sure that all synonyms

are compiled into one word (i.e., leadership and supervision would be counted as

leadership).

III.Set codes

Assign each answer to the open-ended questions a number. For the social media question

assign each answer a number from 1–6. For the question about quarterbacks, because each

team has multiple quarterbacks assign each team a number 1–32 because there are 32 NFL

teams. For the questions regarding adjectives, assign each adjective, after being compiled, a

number from 1–12 (or however many adjectives are used).

IV.Enter codes

Once the codes are created, go through the original questionnaire and give each answer a

numerical code. For question #2, if the answer Mark Sanchez is given, use the code for the

Philadelphia Eagles or Nick Foles. For the adjective questions if supervision is given as an

answer, use the code for leadership.

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