Super Bowl Likely To Push Brady Past LeBron In Aggregate Viewers

Tom Brady will flirt with or pass 1 billion viewers after the Buccaneers-Chiefs gameGetty Images

When Buccaneers QB Tom Brady takes the field on Sunday, he will overtake Lakers F LeBron James in aggregate TV championship viewers (win or lose). More U.S. TV viewers have watched Brady and James compete in championship games than any other modern athlete. Brady’s nine Super Bowl appearances have amassed 898.9 million TV viewers, placing him just behind James, whose 10 NBA Finals appearances (to date) have drawn 904.9 million TV viewers. Of note: If streaming were included, Brady would be slightly ahead with 906.2 million viewers. Either way, Brady will flirt with or pass 1 billion viewers after the Buccaneers-Chiefs game. Michael Jordan’s six NBA Finals with the Bulls helped him attract around 884.6 million viewers (35 games), while Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera’s seven World Series appearances were not far behind (825.9 million viewers for 38 games). A number to boggle the mind among coaches: Phil Jackson accrued just under 1.5 billion viewers for his 13 NBA Finals appearances with the Bulls and Lakers (73 games). Compare that to Bill Belichick at 898.9 million, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski with 256.4 million viewers for nine NCAA championship games and Nick Saban's 229.1 million across his nine title game appearances with Alabama and LSU.

The following chart is a snapshot of select athletes for which viewership figures were available.

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