A recent Vox Media study found that just 8.3 percent of a typical NFL broadcast features actual gameplay.
So what’s being shown during the other 91.7 percent? If you’re watching a New England Patriots game, apparently it’s a lot of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
The Wall Street Journal released an interesting study that examines the average amount of face time granted to each NFL quarterback and head coach in a game. After watching two full games of all 32 NFL teams from the 2014 season, WSJ’s Geoff Foster tallied the total number of times a television broadcast cut to a shot of the player or coach, regardless of the shot’s length.
As you might expect, the NFL’s most successful player-coach combo was near the top of the list. Belichick received an average of 44.5 camera appearances per game, second only to San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh (45.5). Brady came in second place among quarterbacks with 29.5 appearances per game, trailing only — you guessed it — Denver Broncos signal-caller Peyton Manning (31).
Harbaugh and Belichick topping the list shouldn’t be much of a surprise. We’re guessing Harbaugh freaks out at least 45 times per game, while Belichick just looks entertainingly angry all the time.
That being said, there certainly are some surprises on the list, especially at quarterback. Coming in at third behind Manning and Brady is Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, of all people, who seems to be the NFL’s rookie of choice by garnering 22.5 broadcast shots per game.
Photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
