Mark Cuban was quoted last week as saying that in 10 years greed will kill the NFL. The fact that a billionaire said that to another billionaire is troubling.
Cuban is one of the most outspoken figures in the industry.
He’s the owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA and has shown multiple interests in buying a baseball team.
Cuban was not wrong with his statements, but I question whether it will be solely greed that kills the NFL.
The NFL, realistically, will never die. The franchises are extremely marketable and the players are becoming known without their helmets on, increasing their marketing value.
The most successful franchises are competing year after year for championships and making impacts off the field as well. The Seattle Seahawks broke the barrier this year with their Super Bowl win, but again we saw one of the Manning brothers right there in the race.
Right now football is like baseball, we see the same teams competing year after year, not really a fault of any team or league but its redundant at times.
Same teams winning and same teams losing, that does not create new fans. Again nobody’s fault just a fact of time.
The NFL used to be very tough, in-your-face football, and quite frankly that is how it should be.
Right now the game seems to be in some sort of transition period and I am not sure if that is for the better. Every year the league is changing up the rules, making the game less entertaining. I hate to compare it to professional wrestling, but is the NFL trying to become PG like WWE?
For instance, in wrestling there is no more blood. Most the 80’s and 90’s matches had blood in it. Now you will never see a piece of blood, because they are trying to appeal to a bigger audience and younger crowd.
I know were talking real and fake here, but the game has gotten far away from the in-your-face style.
For instance kicking off on the 35-yard line is and was, in my opinion, a terrible idea. Kickoffs used to be fun and exciting.
Fans would never know if their favorite player was going to run a touchdown back or not. Now touchbacks are happening nearly every time the kicker kicks off. Why would the NFL want to make the games less exciting? Seems they took a few steps back on that one.
Slowly but surely they are also getting rid of celebrations in the end zone. I don’t know about most of the readers, but celebrations are very entertaining.
Excessive celebrations are what scoring touchdowns is all about. People getting excited for success, doesn’t seem too bad.
The NFL is now getting rid of slamming the ball through the uprights, again why?
I have to wonder if it all comes down to endorsements.
Big companies don’t want to sponsor non-family friendly atmospheres.
If you see someone pulling out a marker and signing a football like Terrell Owens did a couple years ago people tend to back off. Why would I want to sponsor someone that has that kind attitude or reputation? I am not calling Owens a thug, but creates a lot of controversy. The NFL is trying to stay in the family atmosphere.
There are so many things that are wrong with football and Roger Goodell is a big piece of the puzzle. He has seen two lockouts, one with the referees and one with the players. Both the players and the refs were looking for a bigger piece of the billion-dollar league and he did not want any part of it.
Again, the NFL will never die in my mind. There will always be people wanting to attend games and buying the merchandise, but if they do die it will be self-inflicted.
