Sports Fans Beware: Passwords Might Be Putting You at Risk

Sports Fans Beware: Passwords Might Be Putting You at Risk

Tech innovation experts at GlobalDots analyzed over 180 NFL-related password variations to reveal the most frequently compromised in data leaks.

With searches for “any password ideas” up 143% over the past year, many may turn to familiar names like their favorite sports teams for password inspiration – but new data shows it could be making people more vulnerable to being hacked.

The study reveals the top 5 most hackable NFL team-related passwords:

1. Dallas Cowboys – 185,842 breaches
2. Las Vegas Raiders – 185,665
3. Pittsburgh Steelers – 146,351
4. Philadelphia Eagles – 122,989
5. Green Bay Packers – 92,050

Additional information: https://www.globaldots.com/resources/blog/most-hackable-sports-passwords/

Passwords Relating to Dallas Cowboys, Raiders, and Steelers Revealed as Most Hackable

• A new study has revealed the most frequently leaked NFL related passwords.
• Passwords relating to Dallas Cowboys, Raiders, and Steelers are most likely to appear in data leaks.

Thinking of unique password ideas can be frustrating, in fact searches for “any password ideas” have seen a 143% increase in the last 12 months¹, and although your favourite sports team may seem like a go-to, a new study has revealed that many have appeared in thousands of data leaks.

The study, from tech innovation experts, GlobalDots, has looked to uncover the sports-related passwords that have appeared in the most data leaks and are, therefore, more vulnerable to being hacked. The data analysed various password iterations relating to NFL teams, and ranked them based on the ones that had been compromised in the most data breaches, using a pwned password tool.

Most Hackable NFL Passwords:

Across the NFL, passwords relating to the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers have appeared in the most data leaks. Dallas Cowboy related passwords have appeared in 185,842 data leaks, with passwords relating to the Raiders appearing in 185,665 data leaks, and for the Steelers, 145,000+ data leaks for related passwords.

The NFL teams most likely to have related passwords appear in data leaks were:

A spokesperson for Globaldots comments on the importance of strong passwords, “If there’s a chance you’ve used any of these teams in your own personal collection of passwords, then this may be the sign you need to look to update your password security.

“Using weak passwords across multiple platforms could compromise your web security, this includes everything from your private and business cloud data, payment processing accounts, amongst the likes of social media accounts. Using your favourite sports team as a password isn’t as obvious as the likes of ‘1234567’, but it still poses risks with sports being a commonality between many people’s interests.

“When setting a strong password you should avoid using common words or phrases, including personal information. You should be making sure that your password is at least 12 characters long, is made up of random words or phrases, such as looking around your room and choosing three items that you see first, and should include a mixture of upper and lower case characters, numbers, and symbols. Where possible, passwordless authentication, which uses biometric verification to log into an account, should be used as this can mitigate the risk of password leaks. All of these steps form just one essential part in ensuring your web security solutions are strong enough to manage any potential cyber-attacks.”

The full study can be found here: [link when live]

ENDS

Sources:

• Keywordtool.io correct as of 28^th March 2025

Methodology:

This dataset ranks 186 sports teams, based on how vulnerable the passwords are which include the team names. To do this, 23 different password variations were used (11 for UK). Once the data for the password variations was collected, the different variations for each team were summed, to provide each team a total number of password leaks. The teams were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on the number of leaks. Number of password leaks were taken from: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

The password variations used are as follows (example using Buffalo Bills):

• BuffaloBills

• BuffaloBills1

• BuffaloBills123

• BuffaloBills!

• BuffaloBills123!

• buffalobills

• buffalobills1

• buffalobills123

• buffalobills!

• buffalobills123!

• Buff@l0B1lls

To ensure American teams get a representative value, we also used prompts using only the team’s nickname i.e. Bills instead of Buffalo Bills, these additional prompts are as follows (Not applicable for UK & MLS teams):

• Bills1

• bills1

• Bills123

• bills123

• Bills!

• bills!

• Bills123!

• bills123!

• BillsFan

• billsfan

• GoBills

• Gobills

All data is correct as of 11/03/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representitive of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.

About GlobalDots:

For over 20 years, GlobalDots has been on a mission to introduce new, cutting-edge cloud solutions to businesses worldwide. Fusing an insatiable hunger for innovation with a diligent team of hands-on experts, we help our customers thrive in a quickly-changing world.

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Author: David Keech

David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at keechertheteacher@gmail.com