KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 12: Kareem Hunt #29 of the Kansas City Chiefs controls the ball defended by Kerby Joseph #31 of the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter in the game at Arrowhead Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The NFL has long boasted about its league-wide parity as a reason for its popularity, even as the league has largely been built on the backs of dynasties.
That said, the 2025 regular season may wind up being a bit of a shift – and one that’s providing helpful to media partners so far.
NFL’s Top Teams All Have Questions
No NFL team got to 5-0 this season, the first time that’s happened since 2014 when no team achieved a 4-0 record.
Some of that is a simple product of small sample sizes and scheduling. But it’s notable that no teams are overly dominant during the season’s first six weeks, especially in the wake of two relatively “boring” dynasties this century (the Kansas City Chiefs’, which may not be done, and the New England Patriots’).
Through nearly all of week six’s game action, there are 20 teams with a .500 or better record, and just four teams with a record of 4-1 or better. It’s an indication of parity, for sure, as the top teams all have clear flaws, and there isn’t necessarily a clear delineation between tiers of Super Bowl contenders.
Looking at betting odds, FanDuel has five teams with 10-to-1 or better odds to win the Super Bowl, and another six with between 16-to-1 and 20-to-1 odds. Even the “favorites” right now, the Buffalo Bills, are 5-to-1; far from a sure thing and have also knocked on the door to no avail during the franchise’s recent run of success.
Those Bills also just lost to the Patriots, and the offense has slowed from its torrid start to the schedule.
The No. 2 team by Super Bowl odds, the Chiefs, are just 3-3 but just beat the No. 4 team by odds, the Lions. Though the Green Bay Packers are No. 3 by odds, the squad is just 3-1-1, hasn’t looked overwhelmingly impressive, and lost to the lowly Cleveland Browns already this season.
While the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles were seen as a title favorite entering 2025 and started 4-0, the team has now lost two straight – to the Denver Broncos and New York Giants – and appears to be reeling as the offense and defense both have issues to iron out.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 02: Kyren Williams #23 of the Los Angeles Rams is stopped short on fourth down during overtime to lose to the San Francisco 49ers 26-23 at SoFi Stadium on October 02, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Uncertainty Breeds TV Opportunities
With little certainty around the top teams week-to-week, it lends to more interesting matchups across the NFL’s various game windows. NFL ratings are soaring this season – and iSpot data shows it’s paying off for advertisers as well, with TV ad reach during league games up 12% year-over-year in Q3.
Fan interest in football is surging in general recently (college football TV ratings and ad reach are also up). Some part of that could come from the fact that more parity makes the games better watches – or at least better sales pitches for tune-in.
Amazon and ESPN are setting records for their Thursday and Monday night audiences, respectively. And the last three weeks of TNF have been some of the season’s most talked about games to-date this season (with the Giants’ upset over the Eagles also serving as a national coming out party for New York’s young backfield tandem of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo).
With flawed contenders and a 14-team postseason field, the NFL’s schedule takes on increased stakes and a smaller margin for error for the deeper pool of potential playoff teams. That makes for intriguing options to flex into primetime, for certain. But also more options for the league’s afternoon partners (CBS, Fox) to win with the games that remain in those timeslots.
Fast-forwarding to week 12 (Nov. 20-24) presents almost an entire slate of games with playoff implications if current win-loss records are any indication. That’s the dream scenario for the NFL and its media partners, and why those same media partners will have limited pushback to a renegotiated rights deal that sees even more money heading the league’s way next decade.
Is It Parity Or Dysfunction?
A counterpoint to all of this, of course, comes via Troy Aikman.
During Monday Night Football recently, the ESPN commentator bemoaned aspects of the NFL product, particularly around penalties’ disruption of the game. He’s also been critical of quarterback play in the increasingly QB-centric league at times.
So is it parity that’s making many of these teams look much closer to one another, or a larger potential issue with the NFL’s product that’s just bringing more flaws?
Additionally, the parity emphasis (purposefully) walks past a large number of NFL teams sitting amid some sort of long-term disarray.
The New York Jets haven’t made the playoffs for 14 – soon to be 15 – seasons. Both the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers haven’t made the postseason in the past seven seasons. You could point to varying levels of systemic dysfunction for the Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans as well. Nevermind the Giants’ continued failures, recent win over the Eagles aside.
So for as much as there’s parity, it’s also not an idea that extends to the whole league. Poor QB play, coaching struggles and team construction issues have arguably made the group of teams with limited hope year-to-year as long as the (extensive) list of flawed contenders this season.
If the contenders can’t take advantage of how bad those teams at the bottom truly are, it does bring real questions around how good any NFL team is right now.
Is that parity? Or is that indicative of larger dysfunction around the league that appears as parity? It’s a hard question to answer right now. The lack of an answer hasn’t really stopped anyone from watching so far.
Disclaimer: This news has been automatically collected from the source link above. Our website does not create, edit, or publish the content. All information, statements, and opinions expressed belong solely to the original publisher. We are not responsible or liable for the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any news, nor for any statements, views, or claims made in the content. All rights remain with the respective source.