Philadelphia Eagles

Study reveals the New England Patriots have the NFL's 'best' fans

Published Jul. 12, 2016 4:30 p.m. ET

foxsports

Not that they needed another reason to boast, but the New England Patriots supporters can gloat once again as they have been named the NFL's "best" fans, as a part of a recent study.

The findings were compiled by Emory University professor Michael Lewis, who compiled 15 years of attendance data and four years of social data using a method called Dynamic Fan Equity (DFE):

Surprisingly high on the list? The Philadelphia Eagles. Here's why the perennially underperforming team came in at #5:

At the bottom of the list came the Bills, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars.

Seeing the Raiders ranked so low is a little discouraging, knowing how notoriously rabid and loyal their fan base is. But Lewis ranks the Patriots over the Dallas Cowboys for similar reasons (some 700K more Twitter followers). Social influence is a major, vital factor in sports business today. Combine this with the fact that the Raiders have some of the cheapest tickets in the league, poor attendance, and poor attendance at stadiums on the road when they travel — it's hard not to see why the proud franchise is at the bottom of this list.