Top NFL Stadiums and Fanbases for Manspreading
The 2026 NFL season recently kicked off. The Lines looked into where American football fans are the most likely to find themselves sitting knee-to-knee with infamous manspreaders.
By definition, manspreading is the act or practice by a man of sitting with the legs spread wide apart in a way that intrudes on the space of others.
Anyone who has been to an American football game knows this seat-stealing behavior isn’t lost on sports fans, and it’s not just ordinary men. From Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce to American-French actor Timothee Chalamet, manspreading has been taking up space in all 30 NFL stadiums.
AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas has the fifth-highest rate of manspreading in all 30 NFL stadiums. AT&T Stadium’s manspreading rate covers both home and opposing fans, as 56% of fanatics said they sat next to a manspreader in their last visit. In addition, 20% of Cowboys Nation admitted to manspreading themselves, while 19% called out a manspreader at least once.
The Lines surveyed 3,000 NFL fans to find out where they’re most at-risk of sitting knee-to-knee with the legroom thieves. Read on for the full study.
Key Findings
Paycor Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals, in Cincinnati, Ohio has the NFL’s highest percentage of reported manspreaders, at 65%.
New York Giants fans are the league’s biggest self-confessed manspreaders, at 32%.
47% of American football stadium-goers sat next to a manspreader at their last game, while 26% admitted to manspreading themselves.
Manspreading has forced 25% of American football stadium-goers to move seats.
25% of NFL fans have called out a manspreader at least once, with New Orleans Saints fans doing this most often.
Paycor Stadium Ranks No. 1 for Manspreading
Paycor Stadium has the highest rate of reported manspreading at 65%. However, Bengals fans have one of the NFL’s lowest rates of self-reported manspreading, with just 13%.
Of the NFL fans surveyed, 47% said they sat next to a manspreader at their last American football game, but just 26% actually admitted to manspreading themselves.
New York Giants Fans are the NFL’s Biggest Self-Reported Manspreaders
New York Giants fans are the NFL’s biggest self-reported manspreaders, with 32% of Giants Nation admitting they manspread in their seats. This self-admission rate stands, despite MetLife Stadium’s ranking tied for 15th place.
When it comes to self-reported manspreading, Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans tied for second place at 28% apiece. Baltimore Ravens fans are the least likely to admit to hogging legroom in the stadium, with just 4% self-reporting as manspreaders.
An invasion of a fan’s personal space might sound trivial, but for most American football fans, it’s not. 25% of fans said they’ve moved to a different seat because the person next to them was taking up too much room, while another 25% have called someone out for manspreading. In both cases, New Orleans Saints fans were the most likely to do so.
Methodology
The Lines surveyed 3,000 American football fans across the United States in August 2026 leading up to the regular NFL season. All the respondents attended at least one NFL game in the past 12 months.
The respondents were asked about their favorite NFL team, which NFL stadium they most recently visited, whether they sat next to someone who appeared to be manspreading. The respondents were also asked if they ever manspread themselves.
The findings were compiled into a ranking of 32 NFL stadiums where respondents reported sitting next to a manspreader, along with a ranking per fanbase looking at the percentage of fans who admitted to manspreading in the NFL stadium.
The respondents were also asked if they ever moved seats because the person next to them was taking up too much space, and if they ever asked someone to move their legs for hogging their space.
Of all respondents, 59% identified as male, 40% as female, and 1% as non-binary. The average age was 40.7 years.
