Top 4 Popular Football Magazines in the US
It is the most popular sport in the country, so it is not a surprise that football magazines have always been popular with the American public. Even at a time when there are serious concerns about the future of the magazine industry, sports continues to fare better than a range of other subjects and genres.
Online publications have obviously impacted the sales figures for all magazines. But the best have also incorporated an online element into their business since that trend began. Now football fans are able to read about their favorite players and teams across a number of online and print platforms.
Football fandom covers a lot of different subjects, of course. There are those who prefer to read about the big games and players, other who wants to know how to bet on the super bowl, and some who would rather read about the fantasy sports element of the game. All of the subjects are covered by the best magazines – and we have gotten together some of the best publications here so you can see where you should be looking to get the most insightful information.
Sports Illustrated
You will have no doubt been made aware of the problems currently facing Sports Illustrated. But we could not write about football publications without mentioning this icon of the magazine world. Since 1954, Sports Illustrated has been a part of the media landscape and reported on all kinds of sports, including football.
Regular readers – and lovers of magazines in general – would have been worried about the future of Sports Illustrated after the recent mass layoffs by Arena Group. Whatever comes next for SI, it will go down as one of the most respected football magazines of all time and something that any future football publication will need to live up to to succeed.
Athlon Sports
The rise of the internet has forced many weekly or monthly magazines to struggle to stay relevant in today’s media-savvy society. With breaking news and trade rumors considerably out of date by the time a magazine deadline comes around, football publications have had to find a niche to compete in a tough market.
Athlon Sports is a good example of how a magazine can remain a beacon in the sports media landscape. Covering a range of sports and leagues, Athlon is a single-issue annual magazine that takes a look at the upcoming season and profiles all teams, players and divisions. The website updates with highlights and news throughout the season to keep football fans up-to-date.
Fantasy Football Index
As with many sports in the US, football fans love nothing more than poring over the statistics covering their favorite players and teams. In recent times, those fans have been able to put their expert knowledge to good use by formulating their own football teams under the guise of fantasy sports.
Fantasy sports is now big business and football is the most popular sport of all. Every football fan thinks that they could be a head coach of a Super Bowl-winning team and fantasy sports allows them to prove (or disprove) that. But even the biggest football fan needs some help and Fantasy Football index provides readers with a comprehensive reference guide with all the information and statistics they will need to put together the most impressive roster. It is interesting to note that in a time when traditional sports magazines are having such a tough time, fantasy sports titles are doing very well.
Football America The Magazine
Football is not all about the NFL, of course. While most of the television media attention may be on the biggest games in the biggest league in the world, there are millions of other players competing at all ages and levels every weekend of the season. Football America The Magazine caters to those people involved in the game at a more grassroots level.
Concentrating mostly on youth football in the US, this magazine looks at players across the nation who are dreaming of making the big time when they get older, as well as coaches who love nothing more than imparting their knowledge to the players of tomorrow. This publication is especially good at helping coaches devise strategies and for showcasing young talent.
The Future of Football Magazines
As we have said throughout this guide to football magazines in the US, the industry is facing a number of challenges to stay relevant in the digital world of today and the future. But we believe that there is still a place for a physical magazine – and the digital versions of those titles.
Football fans will always want to know more about their teams and favorite players and can consult some of these top magazines to do that. Magazines will continue to find new ways to attract readership in the coming years. But when there are publications as good as the ones profiled here, any true football enthusiast will always be interested in picking up a magazine to find out more.
