CCBoy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 47,019
- Reaction score
- 22,611
As the sports show announcer starts his show off with:
Now, the music in the background is a #1 and current hit: Rude, by the Magics. I think it is kind of feminine, but I like the song, never-the-less. Yea, it's feminine, but still is likeable by me.
The industry as in a broad field of sports is changing now. With the large numbers of new analysts, show hosts, and even producers in a variety of evolving sports, the new and projected fan is the snarkie.
A snarkie is a insultive fan, who values his own inputs on sports trivia, and manipulates in an attempt to dominate both views and his own pecking order of self-projected value through his dominance of a picture involved. To that new fan, his own words are the most important part of the process.
As the networks work more of the many lucrative price tags to dominate in a sport's media dominance, their first course of support is in that very group of snarkies.
This concept boils down to feed the peeps.
But these varying sports concentrations, affects both a process of player involvement, and it's ownership. Not only that, but whole communities where a team or event occurs.
Baseball is still subject to extremes of cost, with contracts of players being signed for ten years. Well, to be realistic, a top player usually tops out by the year five or maybe six. This leaves a team strapped for the cash value during the final years still owed. Those pay off the first couple to three years quite well, but then that franchise starts to wind down under the burdens. That is baseball, and with the average age of fans watching is currently 53 years old. The dominant support group is literally quickly dying off.
Since Little League Baseball playoffs yields a greater market, it is easy to discern that the speed and increased effect of a league wide pitching advantage now affects fan participation. The big stars are just not standing up to fan enjoyment as well as competitive levels affected by market location and funds available for a team. To increase interest, the prospects of a new stadium just aren't reliable in being matched in team directions and quality of play insured with that possibility. Cities just don't want to fork over the money to establish a new stadium without a winner, already. Baseball will need to grow with it's new Commissioner and make some dramatic strides over the next ten years...or it may be fighting soccer for fan support money.
Basketball is in a period of transition, but has great popular following. The considerations extend to a City that holds drawing influence for both fans and players, money/cash flow to effectively attract players to compete at top levels, and here, an all important coach that can manage a very tough talent pool to keep on course and committed to team type goals. The fan support and media support are both top shelf and well support the industry. There are increasingly, although, some curtailing in a manner that mimicks the NFL as to a cap structure.
Nascar has an established TV market. It has both inbred regulation as to safety/car controls. It is more and more, success dependent upon the magnitude of the support ownership. That, and how good their internal and support group are at maintaining a top level car to put on the track. The supporting firm there is highly important, but a driver group, even with Jimmy Johnson may find some room for stumbling blocks even yet.
The short track is a little bit different. It is more into parts and tires...and running the oval at high rates of speed. Here, as is pointed towards by the Charlotte Observer, as good a source on racing as can be found in the reporting field, even points to the Southern tendency to support this format, but still missing on safety points. No one is responsible for accumulating data through the years, on track deaths. There have been over 300 fan deaths during their existence, and as many as 30 the past decade.
Protection of the fan, is an area that money will eventually start to enter the picture. To retain fan support and the inclusion of coverage contracts on a large television viewer level, requires that deaths be removed from the picture. Or they will remain a rather smaller and more local production.
Then one has the arena of football. The two major areas are the collegiate levels, and the NFL.
No longer do schools attract young players into school programs, with the promise that player's families will be able to watch them on weekends. Every team in the country now gets adequate coverage, with the vast National and Area coverage markets, that additionally extend lucrative contracts to even the smaller conferences through the Nation.
So, what now is the determination for team growths at this level? Well, that boils down to conferences and individual college policies. If asked today, if a coach wanted to coach at Notre Dame or Miami, what would be the strongest factor in the decision?
Well, simply the standard upon athletes of that school. Notre Dame requires all athletes to meet a stringent academic standard to participate in sports. It is not the recipient of favorable National status is it once was. Oh, they still are a good program with a lot of integrity and earned respect. Just as would a team such as Stanford, Rice, Rutgers, Dartmouth, and the three Service Academies.
If one would have asked Lou Holtz who would he pick between Notre Dame and Miami if he were seeking a new collegiate head coaching position. Now, Lou loved The Fighting Irish, but his recommendation, not advice, would be go to where you could get the best players.
In recruiting, Notre Dame could probably sign a single top National player, that would also meet the academic requirements to play for the Irish.
In the SEC, the picture is a lot different. A team would probably have about three players designated by the Head Coach, that was given special privileges in meeting academic standards. In other words, they were allowed to remain as students without regard to an adequate academic standing. Rules were bent and schools allowed a select few to benefit from looking the other way. Now, why does anyone think that Jimmy Johnson ended up coaching a team for the Miami Hurricanes?
Well, this brings to focus, what is the affecting elements to a team such as the Dallas Cowboys. So, following the line of focus...one must again return to the affects of the flow of money and how that affects process.
This requires dropping back and seeing what happened during the birth and later acquisition of the Dallas Cowboys.
The first owner was Clint Murchison. He was the son of an economic giant in the Country. He had a nearly endless flow of significant money to support his hobby of the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, he was both a playboy and a very intelligent man. He stuck with a great head for the franchise, in Tom Landry. In a completely free market environment, he could fork out the cash to accomplish all elements that were needed to become established as well as perform at top sport levels. As time increased, this function became much more costly throughout the NFL, and the hardships of running the franchise were spread among members of the Executive side for the team. Tex Schramm as general manager with Gil Brandt as player personnel director, were the anchors when paired with Tom Landry. The sun didn't set on the efforts in and around the actual play on the field, around the office of Tom Landry. That was the earlier price for leadership of a NFL team.
It was all consuming and required all year efforts. Player evaluations needed much travel and constant touches in the field, to acquire enough feedback to get quality players. But player selections included a high number of players to be brought in for tryouts. Those ran for most of the season as well.
But things started to change, both in ownership sophistication in the NFL, and level of analysis going into the play on field.
When Jerry Jones purchased the team, the franchise was in extreme financial standing and the resources of Jerry were about maxed out in the payment for the team.
He had to both rebuild a team on the field, and additionally accumulate enough backup cash to create a functional base to grow another era of a dominant team. He started his job in a period that did not include an inhibition on money involved with players. That was the common area shared by owners. As was the application of franchise money and who received what.
This initially was inhibiting on players' salaries, as it was upon team expenses. There was not a universal conversion standard between team take and player's level of reward. That was the playing field before the Cap was introduced.
The nature of the beast was quite different when Jimmy and Jerry started into the NFL.
I'll paint a picture to describe the dynamics of the process then...
The foundation of Jerry's direction was founded upon the principal that problems created by owners were in direct relationship to their not really knowing about the function of all elements below their level of observation. Their ignorance was instead, the start of dysfunction. That is why he first made the statement that his job was from knowledge about players to socks and jocks. A type of phrasing common at that time.
The intensity of efforts and lack of sleep created a heart arrhythmia that he still retains.
Let us take a focus upon the 1992 draft by Dallas. The Cowboys had picks 13 and 24 in the first round. Johnson had picked Pitt defensive lineman Sean Gilbert as the best player in the draft.
During the draft, Jimmy had predicted that Indianapolis would take Steve Emtman and Quintin Coryatt with the draft's first two picks. The Cowboys then went to the Rams, to trade up to acquire Sean Gilbert. But they asked way too much for Jerry to agree with the trade up in the draft. They wanted the top Dallas pick, 13, and probably Michael Irvin. Jerry was thinking that if Dallas sold the farm here, they would not be able to see the development of Leon Lett, Tony Hill, and Chad Hennings.
At that time, the Detroit Lions were throwing a bunch of short passes, so Jimmy then rationalized that the team would need a quality cornerback to counter that type of tendency. The rated trio of top cornerbacks by Dallas, then were: Terrell Buckley, Kevin Smith, and Troy Vincent.
But at 4, Dallas still attempted to move up with Cincinnati, to get Buckley. The spot was instead traded to Washington, who took Heisman winner, Desmond Howard. Green Bay took Buckley at 5.
( Some of the Herchel Walker trade was said to have been squandered in the acquisitions of Daniel Stubbs, Terence Flagler, and Alonzo Highsmith. As well as paid for Emmitt Smith and Russell Maryland. That from the original 3-1's, 3-2's, and 2-3's.)
At this point, Dallas felt that Smith would fall all the way to 19, so they traded their 13th pick for 19 and 9 in the 2nd round. But before they got to pick 17, they got word that at 18, San Francisco was looking for a corner. So the Cowboys moved up to 17 with a trade with Atlanta and a 4th rounder. They then took Kevin Smith there.
At 24, the Cowboys then took middle linebacker Robert Jones. Dave Wannstedt had evaluated him and felt he could start his rookie season.
( On the clock, Jerry had swung several moves...in acquiring both Emmitt Smith and Russell Maryland. With Russell Maryland, who evaluated as the 8th best talent on the board, the Cowboys had negotiated a salary guarantee and agreed upon, with Maryland before making the pick. This gave the Cowboys a salary savings and guaranteed that he would be practicing much earlier and during the organizational practices.)
That second round pick, Dallas chose Darren Woodson, who was ranked much lower through the league. The Cowboys had him timed on grass, at a 4.3.
Bobby Ackles was involved in contract negotiations and player acquisitions. He had a pretty lucrative job when Jerry Jones purchased the team. He had been originally hired by Hank Schramm in 1986, and had a salary of $128,000. He had worked up from an equipment manager to general manager in the CFL.
Through the talk prior to announcing their picks, the Cowboys had tentatively agreed to contract costs before they were even announced. He was challenged by several owners, but won his case. This created further cash reserves. And the Cowboys never had a holdout by Maryland as they did with Emmitt, in 1993.
His job, Ackles, was then replaced by Jerry and his son, Stephen Jones. But this reduced the management costs for the team as well.
Well, the conditions for that kind of rise in the NFL, will never again be duplicated in today's NFL. It's opportunity died with the arrival of the Cap system by the NFL.
So a fan's comparing back to those days, is not valid as applied to how cash flows and selections occur in today's NFL. The teams created both under Landry and then the Dynasty centered around the team of Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones...just don't exist in the scheme of the NFL today...period.
But what about today's Cowboys? Well, let's first continue with the influences coming from the media and the television rights.
Well, contracts have pushed coverages about the NFL into coverage of targeted items. Heck, even CBS is presently highlighting games involving Johnny Football. Today, we shall see just how far that will immediately progress when the Browns announce their starter at quarterback, officially. But as to CBS, for their first NFL game for 2014, their first aired game is Pittsburgh. Guess who they are playing? Yep, Cleveland, who's ownership has never been player first in it's management process. They are considered a little less than top shelf in how they treat their team.
But the point is made, that cash flow affects both the management of contract between the Player's Association as well as accountant practices by team owners. Not all of them are as interested in player quality, as is Jerry Jones.
Well, bottom line now, how does this affect the current Cowboys and what a fan observed?
First, today's fan needs not to be that transitory burn barrel observer to a snarkie. He instead, needs to understand real limitations upon both ownership/GM and a coach being installed in today's NFL.
For the Cowboys, and they just can't divorce the transitions to arrive at today, this involves knowing where the NFC is right now, today.
The NFC has some real quality teams, and one of the hallmarks of that grouping, are pretty good defenses. But the league is still propelled by ability to achieve success on the offensive side of the ball.
Without a quality offensive line, everything else becomes diluted. Well, if a fan is honest and projecting along lines of what happened around the Cowboys, he has to understand that when Jason Garrett was given the reigns of the franchise, the offensive line completely fell apart and with lingering cap figures. As the team then initiated measures to overcome this all important need for the team, the defensive line started to additionally grow old and injured as well.
Plug this dragging cap picture, that was added to with NFL punishment in the contract negotiation period. and change was slowed. But not halted.
The team invested in what the team needed the greatest in the current NFC. It spent first round selections in three consecutive years upon offensive linemen.
That wasn't from Jerry or Jason Garrett being irresponsible or even careless, but by necessity in taking care of business.
The Cowboys were forced to use transitional journeymen veterans to weld together a transitional team. That was responsible, not ignorance and a lack of knowing about the NFL.
Fun as a fan? Well, no...not even for the snarkies. But if a fan is also trying to be realistic, that offensive line projects strongly into the future...for a relevant number of years and relative cap savings. Smith is already on contract that fits into a manageable and progressively improving cap picture into this next season. The ten year contract is not in the neighborhood of ten year contracts in baseball.
This team now projects into the future as an improving team, and solidly so...for the length of the current NFL collective bargaining agreement. That is a progression, and not a sign of a failing franchise or sport.
One has to realistically, as a fan, follow the cash flow both as to the sport and the television industry that makes it accessible to the average fan. I'm sorry all snarkies, that is the real nature of the beast.
Now, the music in the background is a #1 and current hit: Rude, by the Magics. I think it is kind of feminine, but I like the song, never-the-less. Yea, it's feminine, but still is likeable by me.
The industry as in a broad field of sports is changing now. With the large numbers of new analysts, show hosts, and even producers in a variety of evolving sports, the new and projected fan is the snarkie.
A snarkie is a insultive fan, who values his own inputs on sports trivia, and manipulates in an attempt to dominate both views and his own pecking order of self-projected value through his dominance of a picture involved. To that new fan, his own words are the most important part of the process.
As the networks work more of the many lucrative price tags to dominate in a sport's media dominance, their first course of support is in that very group of snarkies.
This concept boils down to feed the peeps.
But these varying sports concentrations, affects both a process of player involvement, and it's ownership. Not only that, but whole communities where a team or event occurs.
Baseball is still subject to extremes of cost, with contracts of players being signed for ten years. Well, to be realistic, a top player usually tops out by the year five or maybe six. This leaves a team strapped for the cash value during the final years still owed. Those pay off the first couple to three years quite well, but then that franchise starts to wind down under the burdens. That is baseball, and with the average age of fans watching is currently 53 years old. The dominant support group is literally quickly dying off.
Since Little League Baseball playoffs yields a greater market, it is easy to discern that the speed and increased effect of a league wide pitching advantage now affects fan participation. The big stars are just not standing up to fan enjoyment as well as competitive levels affected by market location and funds available for a team. To increase interest, the prospects of a new stadium just aren't reliable in being matched in team directions and quality of play insured with that possibility. Cities just don't want to fork over the money to establish a new stadium without a winner, already. Baseball will need to grow with it's new Commissioner and make some dramatic strides over the next ten years...or it may be fighting soccer for fan support money.
Basketball is in a period of transition, but has great popular following. The considerations extend to a City that holds drawing influence for both fans and players, money/cash flow to effectively attract players to compete at top levels, and here, an all important coach that can manage a very tough talent pool to keep on course and committed to team type goals. The fan support and media support are both top shelf and well support the industry. There are increasingly, although, some curtailing in a manner that mimicks the NFL as to a cap structure.
Nascar has an established TV market. It has both inbred regulation as to safety/car controls. It is more and more, success dependent upon the magnitude of the support ownership. That, and how good their internal and support group are at maintaining a top level car to put on the track. The supporting firm there is highly important, but a driver group, even with Jimmy Johnson may find some room for stumbling blocks even yet.
The short track is a little bit different. It is more into parts and tires...and running the oval at high rates of speed. Here, as is pointed towards by the Charlotte Observer, as good a source on racing as can be found in the reporting field, even points to the Southern tendency to support this format, but still missing on safety points. No one is responsible for accumulating data through the years, on track deaths. There have been over 300 fan deaths during their existence, and as many as 30 the past decade.
Protection of the fan, is an area that money will eventually start to enter the picture. To retain fan support and the inclusion of coverage contracts on a large television viewer level, requires that deaths be removed from the picture. Or they will remain a rather smaller and more local production.
Then one has the arena of football. The two major areas are the collegiate levels, and the NFL.
No longer do schools attract young players into school programs, with the promise that player's families will be able to watch them on weekends. Every team in the country now gets adequate coverage, with the vast National and Area coverage markets, that additionally extend lucrative contracts to even the smaller conferences through the Nation.
So, what now is the determination for team growths at this level? Well, that boils down to conferences and individual college policies. If asked today, if a coach wanted to coach at Notre Dame or Miami, what would be the strongest factor in the decision?
Well, simply the standard upon athletes of that school. Notre Dame requires all athletes to meet a stringent academic standard to participate in sports. It is not the recipient of favorable National status is it once was. Oh, they still are a good program with a lot of integrity and earned respect. Just as would a team such as Stanford, Rice, Rutgers, Dartmouth, and the three Service Academies.
If one would have asked Lou Holtz who would he pick between Notre Dame and Miami if he were seeking a new collegiate head coaching position. Now, Lou loved The Fighting Irish, but his recommendation, not advice, would be go to where you could get the best players.
In recruiting, Notre Dame could probably sign a single top National player, that would also meet the academic requirements to play for the Irish.
In the SEC, the picture is a lot different. A team would probably have about three players designated by the Head Coach, that was given special privileges in meeting academic standards. In other words, they were allowed to remain as students without regard to an adequate academic standing. Rules were bent and schools allowed a select few to benefit from looking the other way. Now, why does anyone think that Jimmy Johnson ended up coaching a team for the Miami Hurricanes?
Well, this brings to focus, what is the affecting elements to a team such as the Dallas Cowboys. So, following the line of focus...one must again return to the affects of the flow of money and how that affects process.
This requires dropping back and seeing what happened during the birth and later acquisition of the Dallas Cowboys.
The first owner was Clint Murchison. He was the son of an economic giant in the Country. He had a nearly endless flow of significant money to support his hobby of the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, he was both a playboy and a very intelligent man. He stuck with a great head for the franchise, in Tom Landry. In a completely free market environment, he could fork out the cash to accomplish all elements that were needed to become established as well as perform at top sport levels. As time increased, this function became much more costly throughout the NFL, and the hardships of running the franchise were spread among members of the Executive side for the team. Tex Schramm as general manager with Gil Brandt as player personnel director, were the anchors when paired with Tom Landry. The sun didn't set on the efforts in and around the actual play on the field, around the office of Tom Landry. That was the earlier price for leadership of a NFL team.
It was all consuming and required all year efforts. Player evaluations needed much travel and constant touches in the field, to acquire enough feedback to get quality players. But player selections included a high number of players to be brought in for tryouts. Those ran for most of the season as well.
But things started to change, both in ownership sophistication in the NFL, and level of analysis going into the play on field.
When Jerry Jones purchased the team, the franchise was in extreme financial standing and the resources of Jerry were about maxed out in the payment for the team.
He had to both rebuild a team on the field, and additionally accumulate enough backup cash to create a functional base to grow another era of a dominant team. He started his job in a period that did not include an inhibition on money involved with players. That was the common area shared by owners. As was the application of franchise money and who received what.
This initially was inhibiting on players' salaries, as it was upon team expenses. There was not a universal conversion standard between team take and player's level of reward. That was the playing field before the Cap was introduced.
The nature of the beast was quite different when Jimmy and Jerry started into the NFL.
I'll paint a picture to describe the dynamics of the process then...
The foundation of Jerry's direction was founded upon the principal that problems created by owners were in direct relationship to their not really knowing about the function of all elements below their level of observation. Their ignorance was instead, the start of dysfunction. That is why he first made the statement that his job was from knowledge about players to socks and jocks. A type of phrasing common at that time.
The intensity of efforts and lack of sleep created a heart arrhythmia that he still retains.
Let us take a focus upon the 1992 draft by Dallas. The Cowboys had picks 13 and 24 in the first round. Johnson had picked Pitt defensive lineman Sean Gilbert as the best player in the draft.
During the draft, Jimmy had predicted that Indianapolis would take Steve Emtman and Quintin Coryatt with the draft's first two picks. The Cowboys then went to the Rams, to trade up to acquire Sean Gilbert. But they asked way too much for Jerry to agree with the trade up in the draft. They wanted the top Dallas pick, 13, and probably Michael Irvin. Jerry was thinking that if Dallas sold the farm here, they would not be able to see the development of Leon Lett, Tony Hill, and Chad Hennings.
At that time, the Detroit Lions were throwing a bunch of short passes, so Jimmy then rationalized that the team would need a quality cornerback to counter that type of tendency. The rated trio of top cornerbacks by Dallas, then were: Terrell Buckley, Kevin Smith, and Troy Vincent.
But at 4, Dallas still attempted to move up with Cincinnati, to get Buckley. The spot was instead traded to Washington, who took Heisman winner, Desmond Howard. Green Bay took Buckley at 5.
( Some of the Herchel Walker trade was said to have been squandered in the acquisitions of Daniel Stubbs, Terence Flagler, and Alonzo Highsmith. As well as paid for Emmitt Smith and Russell Maryland. That from the original 3-1's, 3-2's, and 2-3's.)
At this point, Dallas felt that Smith would fall all the way to 19, so they traded their 13th pick for 19 and 9 in the 2nd round. But before they got to pick 17, they got word that at 18, San Francisco was looking for a corner. So the Cowboys moved up to 17 with a trade with Atlanta and a 4th rounder. They then took Kevin Smith there.
At 24, the Cowboys then took middle linebacker Robert Jones. Dave Wannstedt had evaluated him and felt he could start his rookie season.
( On the clock, Jerry had swung several moves...in acquiring both Emmitt Smith and Russell Maryland. With Russell Maryland, who evaluated as the 8th best talent on the board, the Cowboys had negotiated a salary guarantee and agreed upon, with Maryland before making the pick. This gave the Cowboys a salary savings and guaranteed that he would be practicing much earlier and during the organizational practices.)
That second round pick, Dallas chose Darren Woodson, who was ranked much lower through the league. The Cowboys had him timed on grass, at a 4.3.
Bobby Ackles was involved in contract negotiations and player acquisitions. He had a pretty lucrative job when Jerry Jones purchased the team. He had been originally hired by Hank Schramm in 1986, and had a salary of $128,000. He had worked up from an equipment manager to general manager in the CFL.
Through the talk prior to announcing their picks, the Cowboys had tentatively agreed to contract costs before they were even announced. He was challenged by several owners, but won his case. This created further cash reserves. And the Cowboys never had a holdout by Maryland as they did with Emmitt, in 1993.
His job, Ackles, was then replaced by Jerry and his son, Stephen Jones. But this reduced the management costs for the team as well.
Well, the conditions for that kind of rise in the NFL, will never again be duplicated in today's NFL. It's opportunity died with the arrival of the Cap system by the NFL.
So a fan's comparing back to those days, is not valid as applied to how cash flows and selections occur in today's NFL. The teams created both under Landry and then the Dynasty centered around the team of Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones...just don't exist in the scheme of the NFL today...period.
But what about today's Cowboys? Well, let's first continue with the influences coming from the media and the television rights.
Well, contracts have pushed coverages about the NFL into coverage of targeted items. Heck, even CBS is presently highlighting games involving Johnny Football. Today, we shall see just how far that will immediately progress when the Browns announce their starter at quarterback, officially. But as to CBS, for their first NFL game for 2014, their first aired game is Pittsburgh. Guess who they are playing? Yep, Cleveland, who's ownership has never been player first in it's management process. They are considered a little less than top shelf in how they treat their team.
But the point is made, that cash flow affects both the management of contract between the Player's Association as well as accountant practices by team owners. Not all of them are as interested in player quality, as is Jerry Jones.
Well, bottom line now, how does this affect the current Cowboys and what a fan observed?
First, today's fan needs not to be that transitory burn barrel observer to a snarkie. He instead, needs to understand real limitations upon both ownership/GM and a coach being installed in today's NFL.
For the Cowboys, and they just can't divorce the transitions to arrive at today, this involves knowing where the NFC is right now, today.
The NFC has some real quality teams, and one of the hallmarks of that grouping, are pretty good defenses. But the league is still propelled by ability to achieve success on the offensive side of the ball.
Without a quality offensive line, everything else becomes diluted. Well, if a fan is honest and projecting along lines of what happened around the Cowboys, he has to understand that when Jason Garrett was given the reigns of the franchise, the offensive line completely fell apart and with lingering cap figures. As the team then initiated measures to overcome this all important need for the team, the defensive line started to additionally grow old and injured as well.
Plug this dragging cap picture, that was added to with NFL punishment in the contract negotiation period. and change was slowed. But not halted.
The team invested in what the team needed the greatest in the current NFC. It spent first round selections in three consecutive years upon offensive linemen.
That wasn't from Jerry or Jason Garrett being irresponsible or even careless, but by necessity in taking care of business.
The Cowboys were forced to use transitional journeymen veterans to weld together a transitional team. That was responsible, not ignorance and a lack of knowing about the NFL.
Fun as a fan? Well, no...not even for the snarkies. But if a fan is also trying to be realistic, that offensive line projects strongly into the future...for a relevant number of years and relative cap savings. Smith is already on contract that fits into a manageable and progressively improving cap picture into this next season. The ten year contract is not in the neighborhood of ten year contracts in baseball.
This team now projects into the future as an improving team, and solidly so...for the length of the current NFL collective bargaining agreement. That is a progression, and not a sign of a failing franchise or sport.
One has to realistically, as a fan, follow the cash flow both as to the sport and the television industry that makes it accessible to the average fan. I'm sorry all snarkies, that is the real nature of the beast.
