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Will the NFL keep losing fans?

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In 2014, there was a report that the NFL would begin losing fans because of the concussion issues. The league is losing viewers, but more likely over all the flags being thrown and the lack of talent and coaching being shown by some teams each week. That said, per ESPN, the viewership of games by people under 25 has dropped for the fourth consecutive season. The number of kids playing high school and middle school football is also dropping. Do you think this trend will continue? Mark Cuban once said the NFL had ten years left, then it would implode over the concussion issue. I think it could implode, but not simply because of the concussions.

 

This is the first season I have seen many of my friends stop playing fantasy football. I have even cut back on the number of teams I own. It doesn't seem as fun anymore. For me, it's more the product on the field isn't what it once was.

 

Do you think the NFL needs to be worried about the future? Some say yes, some say no. I'd love to read your thoughts as we have some pretty knowledgeable people on this forum.

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Penalties and a convoluted rule book are my number one gripe, and it has affected my viewing and enthusiasim for the league, but not for my team. My second gripe is the anti social, thuggish, celebrating a first down players. If you score a TD go nuts. The over gyrations and BS for a regular play I can not stand. And stop trying to look like a gang banger. You're a football player, you're better than them.

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It's crazy how everyone at the same time seems to be down on the NFL. I think we are already seeing a talent issue since peewee football participation has been dropping for a while. I know if I have a son he is NOT playing football.

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The game is going to keep getting softer and softer as time goes on.

 

They need to protect the players and they will.

 

And it's true less young people are playing football and it's all because of injuries.

 

Betting on football and things like fantasy football it truly what keeps the game in the number one ranked statis over the other sports.

 

Two hand touch I think will be come more of a reality sooner then later.

 

I don't see how the NFL will want to keep paying out for the issues the ex players will have even more so going forward.

 

This is a good post and thanks for it.

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They need to protect the players and they will.

 

What makes you think that?

 

The league has not been exhibiting any particular tendencies in that direction.

 

If the NFL was truly interested in players' safety, they would not be forced to participate in Thursday night games - or in health-threatening venues such as Mexico City.

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Shipping the game overseas also makes zero sense. There is no end game to overseas football. If there is I sure don't see it. All it does is lose viewers.

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If they continue in their current patterns then it will continue to lose viewers. Up to a point that is.

I don't know that the league will cease to exist in a few years but it's recent domination of the sports market may change.

I know I have said this before in other threads but if you look at the history of the game for well over a century this is nothing new.

Football has often been on the verge of collapse due to safety concerns since the beginning. In the earlier days it was under the constant threat of being outlawed.

Few now know that the forward pass was actually introduced to the game a century or so ago due to safety concerns. That was before the NFL even existed.

The bottom line has been effected and that means that some time sooner or later it will be corrected to fix that.

I'm not saying it's impossible but I don't see the NFL ceasing to exist any time soon.

That's a big advantage to globalizing the game. It could shift to countries where the rules an legal ramifications of things like concussions aren't as strict. Kind of like the tobacco industry has done.

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They will protect the players by changing the way the game will be played.

 

Really when they do change it to two hand touch they can play even more games.

 

They have already change the game based on rule changes.

 

If the players have a problem with there own safety and they should , then maybe they need to find something else to do.

 

Also agree with the op that they already have watered it down and will continue to do so.

 

The NFL doesn't want to see any more law suites.

 

That's bad for business.

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I sense something also, but can't put my finger on it. I am in 6 multi-year competitive leagues.....but it is almost as if owners aren't fired up this season. It is palpable.....and undeniable.



I figured that it was perhaps the advent of DFS that had drained emotion from year-long leagues.....but perhaps it is just the pitiful product we are getting. I have ALWAYS loved pro football....but I can no longer watch a game unless it is recorded on DVR, so I can fast forward through the painfully long delays for commercials. reviews, etc.

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I sense something also, but can't put my finger on it. I am in 6 multi-year competitive leagues.....but it is almost as if owners aren't fired up this season. It is palpable.....and undeniable.

I figured that it was perhaps the advent of DFS that had drained emotion from year-long leagues.....but perhaps it is just the pitiful product we are getting. I have ALWAYS loved pro football....but I can no longer watch a game unless it is recorded on DVR, so I can fast forward through the painfully long delays for commercials. reviews, etc.

The officiating is also a huge reason the games are harder to watch. They've made it so impossible to play Defense and the refs just flag every little thing it gets frustrating to watch. Especially those games that aren't my team but I'm watching just for fantasy players. Really hard to watch anymore.

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Too many penalties

Too many bad qbs

Announcers are downright painfull to listen too

Way too many commercials

Challenges take too long

Inconsistent suspension rules

Too many commercials

Player protests

Player celebrations are annoying

Interference calls are Terrible

 

I could go on

 

Too many commercials

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Football isn't the cool thing to watch (until the super bowl).

 

People move around a lot more than before so there's less people 'sticking to a team'.

 

But the folks who like it will watch it. And some of the folks who don't will chase them down the street/into message boards to ask them why or how they could 'still' watch it. The easy response will be 'cuz I still enjoy it'. And it'll be fine enough to keep going. Most likely.

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Antonio Brown had 3 TD's the other night. Does anyone think that's all because he's so great? He is, but that's not the only reason. It was too easy.

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Too many penalties

Too many bad qbs

Announcers are downright painfull to listen too

Way too many commercials

Challenges take too long

Inconsistent suspension rules

Too many commercials

Player protests

Player celebrations are annoying

Interference calls are Terrible

 

I could go on

 

Too many commercials

This sums it up pretty good.

 

Player celebration dances are a big turnoff for me. They're all scripted these days, nothing seems to be spontaneous. I miss the Barry Sanders types.

 

Nothing gets me off a game quicker than the ol' come back from commercial...watch kick off go for a touchback...back to commercial. They really need to ban that.

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Player celebration dances are a big turnoff for me. They're all scripted these days, nothing seems to be spontaneous. I miss the Barry Sanders types.

 

I used to love to watch Marvin Harrison. Not only was he a great WR, but after a huge play he would just amble over to the bench and chill by himself with his arms crossed and legs kicked out in front of him, waiting for the offense to get back on the field again. . Classic stuff.

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/16/b4/e4/16b4e41266e1265ebed036d6e4b718d2.jpg

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I used to love to watch Marvin Harrison. Not only was he a great WR, but after a huge play he would just amble over to the bench and chill by himself with his arms crossed and legs kicked out in front of him, waiting for the offense to get back on the field again. . Classic stuff.

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/16/b4/e4/16b4e41266e1265ebed036d6e4b718d2.jpg

And he probably killed a guy.

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As mentioned, the commercials, penalties, and inconsistent officiating are turning fans off.

 

Next year, I think I am going to forego the multiple high stakes leagues ($350 entry fee) and go with one big high stakes league ($1750 entry). I'll stay with my two fun leagues and see if I can regain some of the enjoyment I had for the NFL.

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I used to love to watch Marvin Harrison. Not only was he a great WR, but after a huge play he would just amble over to the bench and chill by himself with his arms crossed and legs kicked out in front of him, waiting for the offense to get back on the field again. . Classic stuff.

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/16/b4/e4/16b4e41266e1265ebed036d6e4b718d2.jpg

Yeah, and he's a sociopath who I think murdered a guy.

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What the heck does that have to do with anything?

Never trust the quiet ones.

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Never trust the quiet ones.

LMAO

Explain Ray Lewis then

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(I erased so much, knowing it would not be written, to put this in twitter context.)

 

Issues.

1. youth sports specialization has been detrimental for all the leagues.

2. NFL and NBA lack developmental leagues, feeder leagues as exists for MLB and NHL.

3. ticket pricing, cost to attend a game out of reach for anyone under 25 (without a silver spoon in ones mouth)

4. media is in a state of transition. Cable, and Dish are seeing declines as well

5. leagues own channels are diluting things

6. Thursday night games and international site are negative to the bottom line

7. softening of training camp is cause more injuries than less. O-lines are not in conditioned or properly trained.

8. league roster size is too small for developmental purposes.

9. tinkering of rules is affecting the games.

10. video replay is reducing quality of officiating and affecting pace of play.

11. commercials are having a negative affect. A. many are not family friendly. B. are too frequent. C. are too long. Why do we need to cut away from the action.

12. game times are too long.

13. Fantasy sports isn't killing interest. Sports talk radio, sports talk shows, etc are killing it. Especially the shouting debate format ESPN and now Fox have adopted. The 2000's are calling and they want their sports back.

 

I will cease there, but trust in there being many more.

 

 

Oh yes. One more.

 

Goddell has to go.

 

btw, Mark Cuban is a blow hard.

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(I erased so much, knowing it would not be written, to put this in twitter context.)

 

Issues.

1. youth sports specialization has been detrimental for all the leagues.

2. NFL and NBA lack developmental leagues, feeder leagues as exists for MLB and NHL.

3. ticket pricing, cost to attend a game out of reach for anyone under 25 (without a silver spoon in ones mouth)

4. media is in a state of transition. Cable, and Dish are seeing declines as well

5. leagues own channels are diluting things

6. Thursday night games and international site are negative to the bottom line

7. softening of training camp is cause more injuries than less. O-lines are not in conditioned or properly trained.

8. league roster size is too small for developmental purposes.

9. tinkering of rules is affecting the games.

10. video replay is reducing quality of officiating and affecting pace of play.

11. commercials are having a negative affect. A. many are not family friendly. B. are too frequent. C. are too long. Why do we need to cut away from the action.

12. game times are too long.

13. Fantasy sports isn't killing interest. Sports talk radio, sports talk shows, etc are killing it. Especially the shouting debate format ESPN and now Fox have adopted. The 2000's are calling and they want their sports back.

 

I will cease there, but trust in there being many more.

 

 

Oh yes. One more.

 

Goddell has to go.

 

btw, Mark Cuban is a blow hard.

 

You've made some good points. I particularly agree with numbers 7, 8 and 13.

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They need a revolution in helmet technology to survive.

I think the next step is to install am impact absorbent pad between a players brain and the inside of his skull. Some really promising tech in this department.

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They need a revolution in helmet technology to survive.

Yeah, it's called no helmets.

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I think over saturation and the general bad quality of games, with too many penalties and stops in the action along with poor play, are the main reason ratings are down. The hypocrisy of the league in regard to player safety and discipline doesn't help either.

 

What may really kill the league one day though is the decline in youth participation due to concussion risks cutting the pipeline of new talent to the point where the quality gets really bad. Football is the only one of the four major sports that doesn't have a growing international pipeline of talent - basically every NFL player is American. This isn't changing anytime soon. There's no one else to replace all the US kids who opt for a less dangerous sport.

 

I also sense that the media and fans are fed up with the league's greed and hypocrisy, as a lot of people are ready to dance on the NFL's grave if it ever hits a serious decline.

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Yeah, it's called no helmets.

If they could go back to leather helmets, it would cut down on the piss-poor tackling.

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I think over saturation and the general bad quality of games, with too many penalties and stops in the action along with poor play, are the main reason ratings are down. The hypocrisy of the league in regard to player safety and discipline doesn't help either.

 

What may really kill the league one day though is the decline in youth participation due to concussion risks cutting the pipeline of new talent to the point where the quality gets really bad. Football is the only one of the four major sports that doesn't have a growing international pipeline of talent - basically every NFL player is American. This isn't changing anytime soon. There's no one else to replace all the US kids who opt for a less dangerous sport.

 

I also sense that the media and fans are fed up with the league's greed and hypocrisy, as a lot of people are ready to dance on the NFL's grave if it ever hits a serious decline.

 

Agree, plus another contributing factor is the insane salaries that baseball and basketball players are now making. If I'm a parent, and I have the option to push my child towards a sport where even rotational players are making $50 million contracts, are having much longer careers, and have almost zero risk for CTE, why would I push them towards football instead when the salaries are significantly less, their careers are significantly shorter, and the risk for CTE is higher?

 

Antwaan Randle-El this year did an interview where he said he wished instead that he went for baseball or basketball after starting to notice some of the cognitive symptoms after his NFL career. He is a guy that could really resonate with young men, especially young star athletes, because he was all state in all 3 sports in high school, and had options for which sport to eventually specialize in. If he is talking to young impressionable athletes that have similar options, they will listen to him much more than they would a guy like Chris Borland. He could do some real damage to the NFL pipeline.

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Basketball has the quickest route to the pros, but only a few get in every year. Baseball has the longest and half the roster of football. Football has the combination of a quick route and plenty of jobs. It's easy to say I'll try baseball or basketball if you have the choice, but the odds of making it are longer. The NFL hands out about 250 jobs a year, that go straight to the pros. Lots of young guys know this and will still opt for football. Never mind that there arent too many jobs in athletics for 275 pound plus young men. The overwhelming majority of athletes don't have the options that a guy like Randle el had.

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Basketball has the quickest route to the pros, but only a few get in every year. Baseball has the longest and half the roster of football. Football has the combination of a quick route and plenty of jobs. It's easy to say I'll try baseball or basketball if you have the choice, but the odds of making it are longer. The NFL hands out about 250 jobs a year, that go straight to the pros. Lots of young guys know this and will still opt for football. Never mind that there arent too many jobs in athletics for 275 pound plus young men. The overwhelming majority of athletes don't have the options that a guy like Randle el had.

yeah I didn't mean so much the "big uglies" but it could hit some of the star players that are athletic enough to have options, and those are often times the personalities that drive interest. Jeff Samardjiza an example of a guy that actually did it, and just signed a $90 million contract, which is more than almost all the players in the NFL, and he's only a fringe all star at best.

 

I'm thinking this argument more for kids in the 12-13 year old range, that are sitting down and planning things out with their parents, and deciding which sport to specialize in. If the kid is athletic and is a standout in multiple sports (like Randle-El was), I don't necessarily find the logic in choosing football anymore.

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Could it be that you're all just a bunch of whiny millennials with ADHD? Reach down and grab a set! Not ev

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Not everyone gets a trophy. Once you realize this, it will become much more fun. You're welcome!

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Could it be that you're all just a bunch of whiny millennials with ADHD? Reach down and grab a set! Not ev

I'm probably much older than you. The decline in viewership is a measurable, not a concoction. Get educated then post.

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I'm probably much older than you. The decline in viewership is a measurable, not a concoction. Get educated then post.

 

Alas, that explains why you are so crotchety..... :angry:

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They are making more money than ever thanks to fantasy football and social media.

 

Everything is measure by $ not fans loyalty.

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