Fansided

NFL boring fans, and paying the price

By Andrew Hammond

Sep 18, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of NFL shield logo at midfield before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of NFL shield logo at midfield before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) jumps onto the goal post padding after scoring on a seventy-one yard punt return for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) jumps onto the goal post padding after scoring on a seventy-one yard punt return for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

The NFL is struggling this season. With falling ratings and strict rules, fans are slowly being turned off by America’s top sport. 

It never fails. When you’ve got one, two or even three good college games going on during a particular Saturday, you see a few tweets that follow like this:

“This is better than half the NFL games tomorrow,” and “This is why college is better than pro.”

You know what? They’re right.

You’ll never see a college team beat the pros no matter how many people will tell you the Cleveland Browns could lose to Ohio State. But the college game is much more entertaining than the pro game. The NFL is losing viewers, and no matter what it says, it’s not about the anthem or debates. This has been an ongoing issue for the NFL in recent years, and now it’s time we discuss just why the NFL is having these struggles.

1. The NFL’s Hypocrisy 

A week ago, Antonio Brown was allowed to wear cleats that were a tribute to Arnold Palmer and the NFL was fine with it.

https://twitter.com/golf_com/status/782061224708214784

Fast forward to a week later and Brown decides he wants to honor another legend who left us in 2016, Muhammad Ali. What did the NFL say? No. They went as so far to threaten Brown with a game ejection if he didn’t change the cleats. This isn’t the first case where the NFL has had problems with the uniform.

During October, the NFL turns pink as players and coaches wear pink to support breast cancer research with their “Crucial Catch” campaign. That’s fantastic and should win over female fans, but with the NFL still feeling the impact of the Ray Rice controversy, it’s pretty backwards if you ask me.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the NFL has raised $15 million for awareness and screening since 2009 from sales when the program started. However, when you do the math, that’s $2 million per year. If the NFL is committed to attaining female fans, then it will be more committed to making sure its product has men of good character across the league. The NFL should not just care about its female fans during October.

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