Is the NFL headed for a downfall?

[CH David]

This whole referee debacle has caused a fair bit of controversy to start the season. The owners didn't want to part with what, 1-2% of their 9 billion dollar industry, and we were given replacement referees for seven weeks. But thanks to Monday night, we find out a deal was quickly made for the regular NFL referees to be able to end their lockout and come back to work tonight on Thursday Night Football.

One thing that gets me is that the NFL said themselves that they backed the decision on Monday night. But then they quickly make this deal. Obviously the NFL knows that Monday night's call was pretty bad, otherwise the regular refs probably wouldn't be back yet.

The NFL is a business, first and foremost. We all understand this. I was reading an article which I will link shortly, and writer Steve Silverman talked about how the NFL doesn't care about anyone but themselves. I'm guessing this means the owners and executives.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/27/silverman-the-fall-of-the-nfl-is-coming/

If you read it, it starts out with the refs being locked out and goes to money. That's what the NFL cares or cared about most for so long. Couldn't care less about players getting injured, suffering brain injuries and the like. Just wanting to make money and everyone else be damned. Former players are filing lawsuits against the NFL for injuries sustained while playing. According to this next article, there are over 3,300 players in these lawsuits.

http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2012/Sep/777092.html

With the NFL's image already with some cracks thanks to the referee debacle so far, in the future will the NFL's image and credibility get even worse? Has the NFL set itself up for its own eventual demise?

As the evidence mounts, so do the lawsuits from former players. The players contend that the NFL knew what players were doing to themselves when they allowed players to compete despite having warning signs like headaches, dizziness and confusion.

If the NFL had the knowledge and chose not to act, could that negligence signal the beginning of the NFL's downfall? Is the NFL too big to have one?

 

[klunderbunker]

A downfall? No. The NFL is way too big and there is way too much money coming into it. People in this country are OBSESSED with football and there will always be networks willing to pay millions upon millions upon millions to air the games. Combine this with huge attendance and merchandise and the league has so much money it doesn't know what to do with it all.

As for the lawsuit, it depends on what the outcome is. At the end of the day, everyone that plays football knows that it is a physical, violent sport. There are inherent risks in playing the game and the players knew there was a chance they could get hurt. There's certainly a case to be made against the NFL, but at the end of the day if the NFL takes the bullet on this one, they can make it go away and make the money back quickly. The NFL is going to be around for a long time and they'll make more than enough money to cover whatever losses they get. Last year, 31 out of 32 teams saw their value go up with the Cowboys being valued at over 2 billion dollars. This league can absorb almost anything given the popularity of football. I can't imagine a downfall for decades to come.

 

[CH David]

A downfall? No. The NFL is way too big and there is way too much money coming into it. People in this country are OBSESSED with football and there will always be networks willing to pay millions upon millions upon millions to air the games. Combine this with huge attendance and merchandise and the league has so much money it doesn't know what to do with it all.

The owners want to keep it all to themselves. We've witnessed that with the referee lockout. I am in agreeance that the NFL is way too big for anything to happen now. But what about 10-20 years down the line? You realize how much money is in football, and the NFL was willing to overlook injured players to keep that money coming in. The NFL just got cockslapped back into reality that they need to spend just a little bit of their billions of dollars to keep churning out such a product, or they will lose more money. Players, coaches, etc...won't deal with that. I can only imagine the threats players would've made if the ref deal wasn't made.

As for the lawsuit, it depends on what the outcome is. At the end of the day, everyone that plays football knows that it is a physical, violent sport. There are inherent risks in playing the game and the players knew there was a chance they could get hurt. There's certainly a case to be made against the NFL, but at the end of the day if the NFL takes the bullet on this one, they can make it go away and make the money back quickly. The NFL is going to be around for a long time and they'll make more than enough money to cover whatever losses they get. Last year, 31 out of 32 teams saw their value go up with the Cowboys being valued at over 2 billion dollars. This league can absorb almost anything given the popularity of football. I can't imagine a downfall for decades to come.

This is a big thing. Yes there are risks that come with playing the game. But if your employer knows you're having problems but still has you "get back to work" there is a problem. That is the situation here, especially with shots to player's heads. We all have to worry about concussions, long term effects from said hits to the head.

Now I don't know how the lawsuits will go. The number of players in them is still likely to grow. But the NFL definitely is a powerhouse. Will the popularity still stay if Roger Goodell or the owners keep doing things to alienate players, coaches, and fans alike? Is there a chance that it may not be a huge downfall, but that it is overtaken by another sport? Obviously not now or in the next few years, but in maybe 10 or 20. If it keeps getting worse as the "No Fun League" or intelligence is insulted long enough, will people stick around?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Although this story is sad, no one cares enough or is that sympathetic to highly paid grown male athletes that they will stop watching and gambling on football. Penn State football still exists after a clear cover up of child molestation and once the program is a powerhouse again, people will come back and watch like they did before. Even if it is found that the NFL is guilty, people will rationalize that it was a completely different generation of coaches, owners, and executives that are guilty and the league has started to do the right thing. HD, company boxes, club seats, waitresses, office pools, jumbo-trons, fantasy and prop bets are not going anywhere. The NFL may have to pay some penalties but until the economy really tanks or another football league comes along (Vince/XFL cough!), the NFL will be just fine.

 

[Big Sexy]

The NFL is not headed towards any type of downfall. Every league has lockouts, every league has problems with safety, every league has greedy owners that want to make a maximum profit. The difference is that football is by far the most popular American sport and the popularity continues to grow. The ref issue was a big one but at the end of the day it only lasted three weeks (no the preseason doesn't count). As far as the lawsuits from former players go, the NFL is doing plenty in terms of research and rule changes to help protect the players. Football is the most violent professional sport there is (at least in America) and there is always going to be injuries, concussions, and players, both past and present, who struggle to get out of bed every morning. I'd like to see the NFL do more to compensate some of the older players who didn't get to partake in the kind of income that today's players see but it isn't a big enough issue to affect the NFL's popularity or cash flow. It also helps that no other pro sport in America is close to the NFL in terms of product or popularity and the other leagues have even bigger problems then the NFL does.

 

[Megatron]

The only way I could see the NFL truly not being around in 10-20 years is if tommorows stars (aka 9-10 year olds) are pushed by their parents to take up a less dangerous sport. If there are guys that are willing to pad up and play, there will be fans that will watch, no matter who's refereeing or playing the game. I can't say I see that happening anytime soon, either, as states like Texas, California, and Florida continue to breed players by the dozen and it's life and death for those states (Texas specifically). While people may be fed up with the hypocrisy of the league, more and more eyeballs will continue to watch and the sport continues to expand globally (more London games, potential London SB, more prime time games).

 

[Lowdown]

The only way I see the downfall of the NFL is if they crack the whip even more on vicious hits. And even then it would still thrive. Granted, I was going to stop watching myself after what happened on Monday night, but I'm one man. I'm glad that the regular refs are coming back though. Like everyone has been saying, the league is a billion dollar machine. I think that if there was a Penn State-like scandal the NFL would flourish.

 

[Paul Bunyan's Axe]

The only way I see the downfall of the NFL is if they crack the whip even more on vicious hits. And even then it would still thrive. Granted, I was going to stop watching myself after what happened on Monday night, but I'm one man. I'm glad that the regular refs are coming back though. Like everyone has been saying, the league is a billion dollar machine. I think that if there was a Penn State-like scandal the NFL would flourish.

You've got to be kidding? Seriously? It's a god damn controversial call, they happen. Get over it. Yeah, maybe it was a bad call, but I think it was honestly a lot closer than people seem to think. It's definitely not a reason to "stop watching" especially if you're a real football fan.

On topic: The NFL won't be heading for a downfall with how much goes into it. There's die hard fans out there who will support their teams no matter what, and there will be the regular fans as well. As terrible as Goodell is, it's almost impossible to take the NFL into a downfall.

 

[braveh]

The league is taking a couple of hits the past few years no question about it. It's not going out of business but the league could lose its momentum and lose the status of being the hot league, the in-thing.

It's not that simple that it's just a matter of football being popular.

I talked about this is another thread. Right now the Chicago, Boston, Philly and N.Y teams are strong, even the 49ers, the Cowboys is like the perfect milk cow as long as they're decent

I don't the game is as much fun as it used to be. The kickoffs is a joke, the timeouts, commercial breaks, all the flags thrown left and right...and now all the constant negativity and talk about the business side of it.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

You've got to be kidding? Seriously? It's a god damn controversial call, they happen. Get over it. Yeah, maybe it was a bad call, but I think it was honestly a lot closer than people seem to think. It's definitely not a reason to "stop watching" especially if you're a real football fan.

Who the fuck are you to tell someone to 'get over it'? I don't think it's a reason to stop watching either but if he wants to stop watching then who in the blue fucking hell are you to tell him otherwise?

Anyway, no I don't see a downfall coming for a long time to come. As long as they keep making money they will keep on keeping on. When a company makes billions and billions of dollars they don't fall unless the economy absolutely tanks and even then, it'd take a while to effect the NFL.