In 1994, the NFL celebrated its 75th season. The season featured special anniversary logos and throwback jerseys. The  NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was also revealed that year.  The season also witnessed the Phoenix Cardinals changing their name to the Arizona Cardinals.  Whether these special circumstances were a factor or not is unknown, but 1994 was also the NFL’s best season in terms of attendance.

On this day, December 27th, in 1994, the NFL announced a record year for attendance with over 14 million paying fans. The attendance record marked a trend for increasing NFL popularity in the 1990s.

Today, the NFL’s attendance marks are consistently above the record level of 1994.  In 2010, there were a total of 17.3 million live spectators in the season, an average of 67,500 a game.