Despite football’s popularity among Hispanic Americans, participation rates remain low

In fact, the NFL’s single-game attendance record was set at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 1994 when 112,376 spectators watched a preseason matchup — yes, preseason — between the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys.

Despite this, those numbers fail to translate to participation in the sport at all levels.

Latinos made up 18.7% of the U.S. population in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet, only 0.5% of NFL players identified as Latino at the start of the 2019 season, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

The lack of Hispanic representation in the NFL can also be seen at the collegiate level. Only about 3% of Division I football players in 2020 identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to the NCAA Race and Gender Demographics Database,

It is difficult to pinpoint why there aren’t there more Hispanics in football, but it’s clear it starts at the youth and high school level.

“I feel like it comes from the parents,” Arizona State offensive lineman Marco Salas said. “They kind of stray their kids away from that because of the physicality of the sport, and they would rather have them play a different sport like soccer or baseball.”

Economics play a role, too.