73% of NFL Fans Believe in Aliens: The NFL Fanbases Most Likely to Believe in Ghosts, UFOs, and Supernatural Forces
Football season is in full swing, and Halloween is creeping up fast. And if there's one thing football fans know, it's that superstitions matter. Lucky jerseys, pre-game rituals, never changing your seat during a winning streak – the game is full of believers.
So we wondered: if fans are that superstitious about football, what else do they believe in? Ghosts? Aliens? Conspiracies? To find out, the team at Free Bets listened to over 2,000 fans across all 32 teams to find out which fanbases believe in ghosts, aliens, and things that go bump in the fourth quarter.
If late-game blocked kicks and that primetime 40-40 tie weren’t weird enough, new data says plenty of fans think there’s more out there than just questionable calls.
Key takeaways
- Browns, Broncos, and Lions fans lead the league in superstitious beliefs, while Titans, Texans, and Bears supporters are the most grounded.
- Over half of Vikings, Falcons, and Cowboys admit they believe in ghosts.
- 38.1% of Chiefs fans believe aliens have already landed on Earth.
- Winning the Super Bowl isn't the only thing Titans fans find unrealistic. They're the most skeptical in the league of any sort of supernatural phenomenon.
- While nearly one in three fans believe in supernatural forces, only about 1 in 10 have actually tried engaging with them through Ouija boards, psychic readings, or mediums.
- Aliens lead all beliefs, with 73.2% saying we’re not alone; Jets 83.1% and Raiders 82.8% pace the league.
The Truth Is Out There (and Browns Fans Know It)
Cleveland Browns fans top the list as the most superstitious fanbase in the NFL, with an average belief rate of 35.9% across all supernatural phenomena. Given the Browns' historically rough luck (including an eight-game losing streak that just ended in Week 3 with a dramatic last-second field goal), maybe they're onto something.
Right behind Cleveland are Denver Broncos fans at 35.8% and Detroit Lions loyalists at 35.5%. Interestingly, both the Browns and Lions just faced off in Week 4, where Detroit dominated 34-10. With three turnovers by Browns (now-Bengals) quarterback Joe Flacco and a punt returned for a touchdown, you could argue some dark forces were at work at Ford Field.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tennessee Titans fans are the league's biggest skeptics at just 26.2% believing in something not of this world, making them nearly 10 percentage points less superstitious than the league's most superstitious fanbases. Houston Texans fans come in second-to-last at 28.9%, followed by Chicago Bears fans at 30%. The bottom five rounds out with the Philadelphia Eagles at 30.2% and the Washington Commanders at 30.3%.
For Titans fans, the lack of supernatural belief might explain their current predicament. Tennessee is sitting at 0-4 to start the 2025 season, with rookie quarterback Cam Ward showing flashes of brilliance but struggling to sustain momentum.
Aliens Are More Popular Than Your Favorite Team
Here's something wild: 73.2% of NFL fans believe in intelligent alien life. That's nearly three out of every four people watching football on Sundays who think we're not alone in the universe.
Jets fans lead the pack with 83.1% believing in aliens, which feels almost poetic given their team plays in New York (close encounters, anyone?). Raiders fans aren't far behind at 82.8%, followed by Broncos fans at 81.2%.
But believing in aliens is one thing. What fans think about them is another story entirely.
When asked about alien theories, 26.6% of NFL fans think extraterrestrials haven't landed yet but will soon, while 23.7% believe they've already touched down on Earth, and just might be sitting next to them in the stands. And if you're looking for a good conspiracy theory, 19.7% are convinced the Feds know aliens exist and are actively covering it up.
Kansas City Chiefs fans lead this particular conspiracy train, with 38.1% believing aliens have already landed. Meanwhile, Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys fans tie for first place in government cover-up beliefs at 28.6%.
Given some of the questionable calls we've seen from NFL refs this season (looking at you, Eagles-Rams blocked field goal in Week 3), maybe those aren't officials out there. Maybe they're aliens testing human patience.
Ghosts, Demons, and Things That Go Bump in the Stadium
After aliens, angels are the second most believed-in supernatural entity at 57.7%, followed by demons at 48.3% and ghosts or spirits at 46.1%.
Minnesota Vikings fans are the most likely to believe in ghosts, with 57.8% saying spirits are real. Atlanta Falcons fans come in second at 55.4%, while Cowboys, Browns, Broncos, and Lions cluster at 53.1%.
The more obscure beliefs get less traction. Only 27.3% believe in witches or warlocks, 22.5% in cryptids like Bigfoot, and a mere 14.7% think werewolves are real.
Are Reptilian Humanoids Running the NFL?
And here’s a fun one: 12% of NFL fans believe in reptilian humanoids, commonly known as lizard people. You read that right. One in eight football fans thinks there are shape-shifting reptile creatures walking among us, possibly controlling world governments and major institutions.
The conspiracy theory, popularized by British conspiracy theorist David Icke in the late 1990s, claims that blood-drinking, shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from the Alpha Draconis star system have infiltrated humanity by taking on human form. According to believers, these lizard people occupy positions of power – world leaders, CEOs, celebrities – all working toward global domination. A 2013 poll found that about 4% of Americans believe in the theory, which means NFL fans are actually three times more likely to believe in lizard people than the general population.
Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals fans lead the league in reptilian belief at 20.3% each. That's one in five fans from these teams who think there's a chance their neighbor, their boss, or maybe even their quarterback could be a cold-blooded reptile in disguise. Buffalo Bills fans aren't far behind at 18.8%, followed by Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans all tied at 15.6%.
For these fans, when you've watched enough inexplicable losses and baffling referee decisions, maybe believing that lizard people are pulling the strings from behind the scenes offers some strange comfort. At least it would mean someone has a plan.
Believers Who Don't Actually Believe Enough to Act
This is where it gets interesting. While nearly one in three NFL fans believe in supernatural forces, only about 1 in 10 have ever tried to engage with them.
The Minnesota Vikings have the widest "belief-action gap" in the league, with 34.7% believing in supernatural phenomena but only 7% ever taking action like visiting a medium or using a Ouija board. That's a gap of 27.7 percentage points. Buffalo Bills fans aren't far behind with a 25.7 point gap, and Atlanta Falcons fans show a 24.8 point difference.
On the other end, Tennessee Titans fans have the smallest gap at just 14.5 percentage points, meaning if Titans fans believe in something, they're more likely to actually do something about it.
Indianapolis Colts fans are the most likely to have had a paranormal experience at 15.3%, closely followed by Denver Broncos fans at 15.2%.
Division Rivalries: Even the Supernatural Takes Sides
Looking at overall supernatural belief rates (averaged across all phenomena from aliens to ghosts to demons), the Browns lead the AFC North in superstition at 35.9%, followed by the Bengals at 33.8%, Ravens at 32.9%, and Steelers at 32.5%. It's a hearty division that knows hardship and heartbreak, so maybe belief in supernatural forces offers some comfort when earthly explanations for losses run dry.
In the NFC North, the Lions lead the division at 35.5% and the Vikings follow at 34.7%. The Packers sit at a more skeptical 31.4% and Bears at 30%. Perhaps all those years of Packers dominance and championship success have made their fans less likely to believe they need supernatural help, even though Lambeau may not be the championship cathedral it once was.
In the AFC South, there's a massive spread in supernatural beliefs. The Colts lead at 34.5%, Jaguars come in at 33.1%, and Texans at 28.9%. But the Titans bring up the rear at just 26.2%, making them not only the most skeptical team in their division but in the entire NFL.
What This All Means for Spooky Season
As we head deeper into October and Halloween approaches, it's clear that NFL fans aren't just superstitious about their game-day rituals. They genuinely think there's something else out there, whether it's aliens watching from above, ghosts haunting old stadiums, or demons making kickers miss field goals at crucial moments.
Of the fans who have tried to engage with the supernatural, 14.9% have visited a medium, 13.6% claim to have had a paranormal encounter, 10.3% have gotten psychic readings, and 6.7% have used a Ouija board.
So this Halloween, when you're watching your team and something inexplicable happens on the field, remember: it might not just be bad coaching or questionable play-calling. According to a significant chunk of NFL fans, there could be forces at work that we can't see, can't explain, and definitely can't challenge with an instant replay.
After all, if nearly three-quarters of football fans think aliens exist, who's to say they aren't the ones calling the plays from upstairs?
Methodology
This survey was conducted in September 2025 and included 2,056 NFL fans across the United States, with an average age of 38. Fans of each team appeared between 64 and 66 times in the survey sample, ensuring representation across all 32 NFL fanbases.
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