NFL Report

NFL Report: The Commissioner’s View -- Spring, 2002
Serving Our Hispanic Fans

The popularity of the NFL cuts across all racial, ethnic, and other demographic lines. One of the distinguishing characteristics of our league is the way it brings together diverse groups of people on common ground.

In serving NFL fans, our goal is to engage all groups and help them experience the thrill of football—America’s passion. Among the most passionate of NFL fans are Hispanic-Americans, the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States.

There is no Hispanic race or color. “Hispanic” is a government-coined word for people of Latin American or Spanish descent or Spanish-language background. Hispanics currently comprise about 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, or 35 million people, roughly the same size as the African-American community. Hispanics and African-Americans comprise the nation’s two largest minority groups.

By 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are expected to be the country’s largest minority group. By 2050, the Hispanic/Latino U.S. population is predicted to triple to nearly 100 million.

Hispanics are a growing presence on NFL teams. Current players include Jeff Garcia, Tony Gonzalez, Martín and Bill Gramática, Adam Archuleta, Stalin Colinet, David Díaz-Infante, Donnie Edwards, Roberto Garza, and Marco Rivera. Hispanic representation is growing on coaching and front office staffs as well. And the NFL Hispanic tradition includes Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Muñoz, two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Tom Flores, and former Super Bowl MVP Jim Plunkett.

The NFL and its clubs serve Hispanic fans in many ways. Nine teams (Arizona, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, the New York Jets, San Diego, and Tampa Bay) broadcast their games in Spanish on

radio. NFL clubs are increasingly developing marketing, sponsorship, and ticket programs for Latino fans. The San Francisco 49ers, for example, started a Spanish-language weekly highlights show last year on Telemundo network TV affiliates in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Fresno.

On a national level, NFL network television partners increasingly are connecting with Hispanic fans. Last year saw the launch of ESPN Deportes, the first dedicated national television broadcast of NFL games for the Spanish-speaking community. Our NFL Monday Night Football series opened last year in Mexico City with the Cowboys-Raiders game and Mexico President Vincente Fox welcoming all NFL fans to Mexico at the start of ABC’s telecast. NFL.com contains a Spanish-language section, and we work with many Hispanic organizations to bring the NFL story to their audience.

Expanding our ability to serve the Hispanic market is a league priority. We recently formed an internal task force of league and club executives to analyze our activities, consult with leaders in the Hispanic-American community, and recommend a comprehensive approach toward the future.

As part of this initiative, we are going to ensure that this season’s Super Bowl in San Diego fully engages that area’s large Hispanic population. The San Diego Chargers already do this in their “Chargers Champions” public-service programs. Working with the Chargers, the San Diego Host committee, and others in the community, we will develop plans to serve our Hispanic/Latino fans better than ever during Super Bowl XXXVII.

¡Adiós! ¡Hasta luego!