Tate
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Perhaps I am one too far into cocktail hour, but it strikes me that there is a fundamental issue that no one ever discusses about the NFL. We as fans are incredibly passionate (in fact "fanatic") about our teams and the integrity of the game. We complain about rules that have gone too far in protecting the quarterback, pass interference, etc. But the reality of the situation, and what has become painfully clear in particular over the last five years, is that what it is all about is a business trying to make as much money as possible. It's about keeping the stars of the show on the field and making more big plays, preserving the image (de-gangsta' izing via the conduct code), and protecting the goose that laid the golden egg (the de facto monopoly that congress continues to allow the NFL-- congressional hearings on the effect of concussions-- viola, anyone notice that now anytime a player gets dinged they have to miss at least one game? The Steelers received that memo last week-- be interesting to see how that works in the playoffs). We as fans have to realize that the NFL is really just a big, profitable business, and like any other, what the owners really care about is maximizing profit. That is the context in which many of these topics need to be considered.
Are the owners really even fans or just happy to be in an exclusive fraternity? With revenue sharing and the percent of money that comes from TV contracts, it would be interesting to understand the math on the cost of spending up to field a good team (or keep/acquire a player) vs saving the money and selling a few less seats. If your payroll is $50mm vs $100mm annually, what's a few empty seats if the money keeps rolling in from revenue sharing? That is a really interesting question, and very relevant in Buffalo, Cleaveland and many other cities.
It's clear that the business of the sport is at times at odds with the integrity of the game and with what we the fans want, which is for our teams to win.
With that brothers and sisters, cheers to Jerry Jones, because I actually believe he wants to win and that makes us lucky fans.
Are the owners really even fans or just happy to be in an exclusive fraternity? With revenue sharing and the percent of money that comes from TV contracts, it would be interesting to understand the math on the cost of spending up to field a good team (or keep/acquire a player) vs saving the money and selling a few less seats. If your payroll is $50mm vs $100mm annually, what's a few empty seats if the money keeps rolling in from revenue sharing? That is a really interesting question, and very relevant in Buffalo, Cleaveland and many other cities.
It's clear that the business of the sport is at times at odds with the integrity of the game and with what we the fans want, which is for our teams to win.
With that brothers and sisters, cheers to Jerry Jones, because I actually believe he wants to win and that makes us lucky fans.
