I’m 66yo and have been a Cowboys fan since year one (1960 / 8yo). It’s really been an evolution, with too many slowly-changing variables to really pick out too many that can be directly compared.
Off the top of my head...
In the ‘60s, with the exception of a handful of stars, the players made a comparable-to-today pittance and virtually all of them had summer jobs. Very few ever had guaranteed contracts or agents and most played simply for the love of the game. And, since there was very little media coverage, as compared to today, for us younger fans, the players were almost mythical in what we viewed as their heroics. Nowadays, if a player wakes up on the wrong side of bed, it’s 24/7 news, via social media, with every “expert” in the world weighing in its importance, relative to that player’s perceived status.
Back then, O-lineman rarely got over 240-260lbs, with 300 pounders being considered freaks. D-lineman had wildly disparate sizes, with many LBs weighing 210, but certain DTs pushing 290-300lbs. QBs called their own games for the most part and virtually all teams had coaching staffs that numbered in single digits. The one thing that I miss is that, with much less player movement, the teams would often keep their cores together for 8-10yrs or more.
I actually prefer today’s game because, while not necessarily being better football players per se, the guys playing now are more often on the cutting-edge of athletic ability (even some of the 300lb+ guys) and the advancement in film and video studies, coupled with large, specialized coaching staffs, have honed the difference between winning and losing to a razor-thin line.
I could easily write a short novel about my interpretation of the evolution of pro football, but these are just a tiny handful of particular and general observances from almost 60yrs of watching the game.
IMHO, this game has always been great!
