The statement
"NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country."
President Donald Trump, Sunday in a tweet
The ruling
We'll begin by saying that the numbers for 2017 so far are inconclusive.
Advertising Age media reporter Anthony Crupi told us he estimated a decline of around 9 percent in ratings since last year, although the only window to face a significant decline was the 1 p.m. regional games.
But we only have full data for the first two weeks of the season — the first of which was likely impacted by Hurricane Irma — making the data set too small to draw any conclusions according to Paulsen, editor in chief of Sports Media Watch.