Could you go without NFL football for two years?

[Wes21]

4 hours ago, Raleigh PF said:

And for those NFL players who aren't making a butt-load of money, if this is the only game in town, that's where they would head.

I don't think the NFL OR the NFLPA want to see the XFL fill the void. That would be VERY costly.

Football is probably different because of the injury risk, but when the NBA had its lock out even some big money players were playing in other leagues.

[GRWatcher]

17 hours ago, panthers55 said:

An extended strike almost killed baseball and football would be no different. People would find other things to do on Sunday over a 2 year period and TV revenue would drop. And neither side would benefit from getting what they want of a seriously diminished pie.

Continual lockouts have killed the NHL. Who? you ask. Exactly.

 

5 hours ago, Anybodyhome said:

Considering there are several players in the league with law degrees and probably understand just as much about this stuff as Smith does, I have no clue how the players keep him on their payroll.

Because, honestly, Smith is seen as actually being on the player's side with negotiations. Gene Upshaw was seen as giving in to owners after losing the strike in 1987.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Honestly the NFL has been painting itself into a corner regardless of how negotiations with the union play out.

There is a lot more competition these days for our entertainment dollars than there was just a few decades ago.

The NFL product is getting prohibitively expensive for working class people to attend in person and many of the broadcasts are now on premium cable or behind paywalls online.

Meanwhile, several generations of young men have grown up playing video games that are at least as engaging, if not more so, than the NFL product.  I still prefer the NFL, but my nephews would rather compete in virtual combat with their friends online.

In a few more decades the NFL may be little more than a quaint relic of a bygone era compared to VR entertainment. 

A prolonged strike might just accelerate that trend.

[thefuzz]

4 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Honestly the NFL has been painting itself into a corner regardless of how negotiations with the union play out.

There is a lot more competition these days for our entertainment dollars than there was just a few decades ago.

The NFL product is getting prohibitively expensive for working class people to attend in person and many of the broadcasts are now on premium cable or behind paywalls online.

Meanwhile, several generations of young men have grown up playing video games that are at least as engaging, if not more so, than the NFL product.  I still prefer the NFL, but my nephews would rather compete in virtual combat with their friends online.

In a few more decades the NFL may be little more than a quaint relic of a bygone era compared to VR entertainment. 

A prolonged strike might just accelerate that trend.

Agreed.  It's still the big boy, but had the NFL not embraced fantasy, I think they would be looking at the future even more closely. 

I do think that we have reached peak NFL....hell, I see a LOT more kids here playing lacrosse than football already, soccer and lacrosse were unheard of in Eastern NC until the last 10 years.

 

[Wes21]

3 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Honestly the NFL has been painting itself into a corner regardless of how negotiations with the union play out.

There is a lot more competition these days for our entertainment dollars than there was just a few decades ago.

The NFL product is getting prohibitively expensive for working class people to attend in person and many of the broadcasts are now on premium cable or behind paywalls online.

Meanwhile, several generations of young men have grown up playing video games that are at least as engaging, if not more so, than the NFL product.  I still prefer the NFL, but my nephews would rather compete in virtual combat with their friends online.

In a few more decades the NFL may be little more than a quaint relic of a bygone era compared to VR entertainment. 

A prolonged strike might just accelerate that trend.

I definitely agree with you that RIGHT NOW we are in the pinnacle of the NFL.  It will get a little bigger and make a little more money in the next X number of years, then the inevitable decline will happen. 

[tiger7_88]

Quote

Could you go without NFL football for two years?

Without even losing a wink of sleep.

[thefuzz]

6 minutes ago, tiger7_88 said:

Without even losing a wink of sleep.

And I wouldn't even be hungover on Monday morning.

[TheRed]

I don't see a prolonged delay happening. The owners still hold most of the leverage over the players. We're talking about a group of wealthy men who can hold cities hostage for billion dollar stadiums if they so please.

The next CBA isn't much of a factor in the long game. The elephant in the room that is CTE will be the gamechanger. There is still so much to be learned, and there will be a steep cost to the owners and the powers that be in the NFL sooner or later.

[Brooklyn 3.0]

Easily.

[AggieLean]

I’ll still have football. Since 2015, I’ve been more interested in college football; in particularly, football from my alma mater, as I have probably spent more hours watching and money on them than the panthers. 
 

I’ll be fine.

[Carolina Cajun]

20 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

I've seen some speculation that the 17 game season is gonna be a sticking point.

Emmanuel Sanders actually ended up playing 17 games this year due to his midseason trade. He's speaking out pretty strongly against the idea, saying no way in hell he'd be willing to do that again.

Fwiw, that was 17 straight weeks with no bye, I think 17 is doable but you compromise with expanded rosters (maybe 58 man roster) and 2 bye weeks with expanded cap to accommodate the 5 extra players.  Also only 2 preseason in this obvious scenario.

[thefuzz]

1 hour ago, TheRed said:

I don't see a prolonged delay happening. The owners still hold most of the leverage over the players. We're talking about a group of wealthy men who can hold cities hostage for billion dollar stadiums if they so please.

The next CBA isn't much of a factor in the long game. The elephant in the room that is CTE will be the gamechanger. There is still so much to be learned, and there will be a steep cost to the owners and the powers that be in the NFL sooner or later.

I don't blame the owners one bit for asking for that money, I blame the spineless politicians for giving it to them.

If your Mom bought you a candy bar on the way to school every morning because you just asked for it, you would continue to do so until you needed a belt extender.