The Fastest-Growing and Most-Followed Sports Teams of 2024

BetMGM Dec 04, 2024, 5:10 AM
min read

Sports are undoubtedly one of the greatest American pastimes, with team sports enjoying most of the attention from fans across the US. These avid followers come together or butt heads over which of their favorite teams deserved to win or which was robbed of a victory. Regardless of which sports teams you love or hate, some have greater support than others.ย 

BetMGM Sportsbook has revealed the most-followed and fastest-growing pro sports teams of 2024 in a comprehensive study. The study analyzed the Social Blade follower counts and follower gains of all 150 teams across the NFL, NHL, MBA, MLS and MLB on social media platforms X and Instagram from January 1st to December 1st, 2024. Here are the findings from the study.

Overall Major Findings from all Sports for 2024

  • The NBA is the most-followed pro sport overall (268,199,482), however, it is also the sport with the most follower losses of the year (-382,298).
  • The NFL is the fastest-growing pro sport by followers (+7,154,432 gained this year).
  • The Golden State Warriors (NBA) is the most followed pro sports team (41,109,494).
  • Inter Miami CF (MLS) has the fastest follower growth (+1,691,868 gained this year).
  • The Brooklyn Nets (NBA) lost the most followers this year (–143,069).

Most-Followed Sports Teams

Top 10 overall most-followed sports teams of 2024

The 10 teams across all sports that showed the highest amount of followers across X and Instagram were ranked:

RankTeamSportOverall Followers
1Golden State WarriorsNBA41,109,494
2Los Angeles LakersNBA36,918,184
3Cleveland CavalierNBA19,874,003
4Inter Miami CFMLS18,502,373
5Chicago BullsNBA14,817,324
6Boston CelticsNBA12,571,877
7Miami HeatNBA11,727,507
8New England PatriotsNFL9,656,474
9Houston RocketsNBA9,524,576
10Dallas CowboysNFL9,353,545

Teams With Most Follower Growth

Top 10 teams with the most new followers in 2024

The 10 teams across all sports that showed the highest growth in followers this year across X and Instagram, were ranked:

RankTeamSportFollowers Gained (2024)
1Inter Miami CFMLS1,691,868
2Los Angeles DodgersMLB1,455,417
3Kansas City ChiefsNFL1,313,171
4Los Angeles LakersNBA1,132,032
5Dallas MavericksNBA860,990
6Minnesota TimberwolvesNBA811,259
7San Francisco 49ersNFL741,837
8Detroit LionsNFL712,574
9New York YankeesMLB613,733
10Boston CelticsNBA604,945

Findings Per Sporting Category

Here is a summary of the overall total follower count and follower growth across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS in 2024.

SportOverall Total Following2024 Follower Growth
NHL57,777,5981,742,497
NFL139,412,1147,154,432
MLS36,520,5522,880,119
NBA268,199,4925,499,244
MLB81,039,6114,045,670

Take an in-depth look at our findings for each of these sports:ย 

NFL Findings

  • New England Patriots is the most-followed team of 2024 (9,656,474), however, they are the only NFL team to be declining in growth this year (-28,531 followers)
  • The most-followed division is NFC East (24,507,750)
  • Kansas City Chiefs have gained the most followers this year (+1,313,171)

NBA Findings

  • The Golden State Warriors is the most-followed team of 2024 (41,109,494)
  • The most-followed division is Pacific (94,261,598)
  • Los Angeles Lakers have gained the most followers this year (+1,132,032)
  • Brooklyn Nets is the team losing the most followers this year (-143,069)

MLB Findings

  • New York Yankees is the most-followed team of 2024 (7,792,563)
  • The most-followed division is American League East (19,274,211)
  • Los Angeles Dodgers have gained the most followers this year (+1,455,417)
  • Los Angeles Angels is the only team losing followers this year (-139,909)

NHL Findings

  • Pittsburgh Penguins is the most-followed team of 2024 (4,774,462)
  • The most-followed division is The Atlantic Division (16,906,342)
  • Edmonton Oilers have gained the most followers this year (+167,778)
  • No teams are declining in followers this year.

MLS Findings

  • Inter Miami CF is the most-followed team of 2024 (18,502,373)
  • Inter Miami CF has gained the most followers this year (+1,691,868)ย 
  • New York City FC has lost the most followers this year (-4,588)

Division Findings

We further unpacked what changes had occurred in the divisions for each sport.

NFL Divisions

Here are the BetMGM Sportsbook findings for each NFL division:

AFC East

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Buffalo Bills357,9203,767,130
Miami Dolphins198,3983,277,645
New England Patriots-28,5319,656,474
New York Jets96,8932,620,043

NFC East

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Dallas Cowboys150,7939,353,545
New York Giants6,0524,766,377
Philadelphia Eagles550,3567,735,732
Washington Commanders134,0092,652,096

AFC North

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Baltimore Ravens399,2504,193,664
Cincinnati Bengals224,7303,419,892
Cleveland Browns100,8583,189,785
Pittsburgh Steelers206,0937,573,214

NFC North

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Chicago Bears189,1413,851,760
Detroit Lions712,5743,456,126
Green Bay Packers185,5165,430,096
Minnesota Vikings224,1043,167,270

AFC South

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Houston Texans369,3173,873,654
Indianapolis Colts69,7652,279,224
Jacksonville Jaguars62,1811,781,614
Tennessee Titans47,0992,036,690

NFC South

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Atlanta Falcons116,4903,913,550
Carolina Panthers36,2825,033,045
New Orleans Saints113,2053,915,027
Tampa Bay Buccaneers92,2682,845,674

AFC West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Denver Broncos47,5304,256,177
Kansas City Chiefs1,313,1716,997,979
Las Vegas Raiders102,3204,355,230
Los Angeles Chargers128,4592,335,119

NFC West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Arizona Cardinals62,0372,372,899
Los Angeles Rams117,7523,061,845
San Francisco 49ers741,8376,333,339
Seattle Seahawks26,5635,910,199

NBA Divisions

These were our findings for each NBA division:

Atlantic

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Boston Celtics604,94512,571,877
Brooklyn Nets-143,0696,826,428
New York Knicks260,4356,682,093
Philadelphia 76ers168,1486,811,547
Toronto Raptors-27,5736,677,568

Central

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Chicago Bulls-31,69814,817,324
Cleveland Cavalier-55,45219,874,003
Detroit Pistons58,3642,741,668
Indiana Pacers187,2884,695,774
Milwaukee Bucks2,5707,548,878

North West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Denver Nuggets443,0154,445,697
Minnesota Timberwolves811,2595,097,345
Oklahoma City Thunder127,5218,802,419
Portland Trail Blazers-7,5124,476,367
Utah Jazz57,9092,703,780

Pacific

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Golden State Warriors317,19141,109,494
LA Clippers100,3517,297,805
Los Angeles Lakers1,132,03236,918,184
Phoenix Suns125,3615,429,159
Sacramento Kings24,6323,506,956

South East

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Atlanta Hawks17,6654,191,219
Charlotte Hornets89,3533,648,733
Miami Heat-80,32411,727,507
Orlando Magic145,6453,621,843
Washington Wizards-33,1242,769,186

South West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Dallas Mavericks860,9906,979,475
Houston Rockets-3,5469,524,576
Memphis Grizzlies219,8653,737,325
New Orleans Pelicans14,3234,175,657
San Antonio Spurs112,6808,789,605

MLB Divisions

Here are the 2024 follower growth and total following for each MLB division:

American League Central

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Chicago White Sox42,9971,707,362
Cleveland Guardians65,7631,893,755
Detroit Tigers108,6542,536,363
Kansas City Royals68,3042,192,672
Minnesota Twins45,1351,294,982

American League East

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Baltimore Orioles146,9261,624,581
Boston Red Sox45,1304,497,943
New York Yankees613,7337,792,563
Tampa Bay Rays17,9801,215,120
Toronto Blue Jays42,6474,144,004

American League West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Houston Astros148,2273,687,116
Los Angeles Angels-139,9092,670,527
Oakland Athletics30,3651,126,565
Seattle Mariners103,0291,652,166
Texas Rangers48,7182,526,499

National League Central

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Chicago Cubs69,8904,523,126
Cincinnati Reds77,4731,766,401
Milwaukee Brewers60,5641,411,183
Pittsburgh Pirates82,4301,667,329
St. Louis Cardinals58,4852,592,857

National League East

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Atlanta Braves76,3423,634,780
Miami Marlins61,2061,206,912
New York Mets133,5312,913,415
Philadelphia Phillies199,3033,520,216
Washington Nationals11,0661,517,270

National League West

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Arizona Diamondbacks62,3221,314,388
Colorado Rockies16,0231,172,970
Los Angeles Dodgers1,455,4177,718,568
San Diego Padres258,6482,165,262
San Francisco Giants35,2713,352,716

NHL Divisions

We made the following findings for each NHL division:

Atlantic Division

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Boston Bruins100,2923,418,516
Buffalo Sabres30,5571,429,225
Detroit Red Wings67,5512,249,533
Florida Panthers143,575998,313
Montreal Canadiens41,9382,605,426
Ottawa Senators12,2621,005,268
Tampa Bay Lightning32,3721,632,547
Toronto Maple Leafs91,8873,567,514

Metropolitan Division

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Carolina Hurricanes46,6411,114,062
Columbus Blue Jackets25,448978,247
New Jersey Devils40,2701,341,363
New York Islanders25,8791,069,099
New York Rangers84,6782,906,449
Philadelphia Flyers33,9132,338,958
Pittsburgh Penguins17,0034,774,462
Washington Capitals12,4371,784,045

Central Division

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Chicago Blackhawks8,4224,204,402
Colorado Avalanche50,1431,443,649
Dallas Stars69,1531,780,602
Minnesota Wild31,5091,376,356
Nashville Predators20,0621,138,719
St. Louis Blues23,4721,534,033
Winnipeg Jets27,2281,085,888

Pacific Division

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Anaheim Ducks39,5261,137,079
Calgary Flames33,7321,175,461
Edmonton Oilers167,7781,952,209
Los Angeles Kings8,3971,871,285
San Jose Sharks44,6891,431,525
Seattle Kraken31,693960,977
Vancouver Canucks137,6471,866,301
Vegas Golden Knights26,6021,390,344

MLS

Here are the results on the MLS:

Team2024 Follower Growth (+)Overall Total Following
Atlanta United FC18,2321,542,576
Austin FC9,989307,210
CF Montrรฉal110,721632,242
Charlotte FC38,707320,447
Chicago Fire FC19,238386,171
Colorado Rapids16,105253,628
Columbus Crew35,564454,740
D.C. United4,537399,625
FC Cincinnati26,306329,132
FC Dallas318,680692,574
Houston Dynamo FC4,814644,684
Inter Miami CF1,691,86818,502,373
LA Galaxy35,8672,087,942
LAFC142,7601,274,921
Minnesota United FC11,846317,759
Nashville SC11,827251,417
New England Revolution21,163291,008
New York City FC-4,5881,162,336
New York Red Bulls21,835498,204
Orlando City SC17,343911,809
Philadelphia Union237,271799,216
Portland Timbers8,552546,979
Real Salt Lake10,133315,273
San Jose Earthquakes12,695455,182
Seattle Sounders FC-3,494947,489
Sporting Kansas City8,171604,064
St. Louis CITY SC31,130289,886
Toronto FC13,747782,259
Vancouver Whitecaps9,100519,406

Methodology

Using a combination of Social Blade, Instagram and X data, BetMGM Sportsbook collected social following data on each pro team for the following sports: NFL, NHL, MLS, NBA and MLB.ย 

We specifically looked at:

  • Team total followers on X, and Instagram as of January 1st, 2024, versus December 1st, 2024 when the data was collected using SocialBlade historical data.
  • Followers gained per team on X and Instagram since January 1st, 2024 using Social Blade historical data.
  • Current followers obtained on X and Instagram via direct channels.

This data was collected, and follower counts between X and Instagram were added together as part of the study to conclude the combined social following and growth of each sports team.

Disclaimer: Utah Hockey Club was excluded from the analysis due to the establishment of the team in April 2024.

Wager on your Favorite Sports at BetMGM Sportsbook

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Our BetMGM editors and authors are sports experts with a wealth of knowledge of the sports industry at all levels. Their coverage includes sports news, previews and predictions, fun facts, and betting.

Our BetMGM editors and authors are sports experts with a wealth of knowledge of the sports industry at all levels. Their coverage includes sports news, previews and predictions, fun facts, and betting.