By Ross Jackson
Everyone knows that the 2024 New Orleans Saints season did not go as planned. Blame it on injuries, coaching, execution, or whatever suits the evaluator, but the impact is what’s most important.
Unfortunately for New Orleans, the impact showed up in the ratings.
Per Sportico, the Saints received the ninth-least viewed team in the NFL on a per-game basis.
Context is important. Yes, the Saints’ season was disappointing, falling short of expectations not only for their fans but also within the organization. Also, the NFL projected New Orleans to be a less-desirable televised team heading into the season. That much is evident in the team getting only three primetime games in 2024.
Including their Thursday Night Football tilt, a primetime game every NFL team gets, the Saints appeared only twice in primetime, with both games falling on Monday Night Football.
Meanwhile, the leading team in average viewers, the Detroit Lions, appeared in a combined 11 primetime and nationally televised matchups in 2024.
It’ll take a lot of winning for the Saints to get back to that level of viewership, but the Lions are a perfect example of growth in that category. Detroit struggled for years to get back to NFL relevancy and have skyrocketed on to the scene in recent years with their path back to league success.
New Orleans, who looks to hire its next head coach in the coming weeks, will hope that this offseason will be the beginning of that climb back to national recognition.
