For nearly 500 years the Roman empire expanded at will- taking land and converting people whenever and however they wanted. Unopposed and universally feared, nobody had the will or ability to stand up to the Romans. It wasn’t until inner strife took over that lead to disparity in leadership ranks that killed the empire. The NFL suffered their first blow in the 6 decade empire.
Since 1960, the NFL has been king. We love baseball, enjoy basketball, and are wildly enthusiastic when it comes to hockey. All three sports are respected and appreciated, but pale in comparison the the NFL. Fan engagement has always reigned supreme over the NFL, with the other three markets playing for second place.
Advertising comparisons are laughable. After all, these teams are here to entertain us, but make money for their owners. When you have the most fans and the more money than any other league, you are the empire everyone is trying to crumble.
Many thought end was coming in the 1960’s, when two prominent players were suspended for an entire season for gambling on their teams. But the league moved forward.
In 1970 with Vietnam opposition at an all-time high people thought that would have a direct impact on viewership and engagement with the NFL- causing it to lose popularity and importance to the average American. But the league moved forward.
The 1980’s and 90’s were marred with a myriad of drug related suspensions and shady players skating by because of showmanship that could not be taken off the field. The league moved forward.
The 2000’s sparked the CTE war, with thousands of players past and present coming forward to tell their story of a league-wide negligence and downright abusive behavior of players. It reached a boiling point when Junior Seau tragically took his own life due to brain damage suffered while playing in the NFL. Many predicted the demise of the NFL. But the league moved forward.
The NFL always came out on top with these scandals. No matter how big or bad an incident in the NFL was, they won. But yesterday, the NFL lost for the first time in its illustrious history.
A settlement with Colin Kaepernick showed the NFL knew they had lost. Had the case gone to court, who knows what would have been presented. We can assume there were countless texts, emails, and phone calls that proved some type of collusion between owners to keep Kaepernick out of the league. I don’t begrudge them, either, as the headache that would come from having to deal with Flag toting Americans from across the country is an expense no owner would want to bear if it wasn’t necessary.
But now those devoted fans, the ones that screamed from mountain tops that there was no wrongdoing between owners, have been silenced. As even the most one sided fan can acknowledge this was a loss for the NFL.
The questions is, what now? With the commissioner always preaching transparency, can fans expect their owners to reciprocate? Or the players? How can men hiding behind an NDA demand honesty and truthfulness from the people they employ?
I have little doubt that the NFL will suffer from this in the short-term, as no other league is close to them in popularity. But, over time, with more and more of these scandals sure to present themselves, how will the league react? We may have just seen the first chink in the armor for the league.
Bowles' Blog 