![]() No one thinks Jones is going to win this fight, but the fight is nonetheless significant. It is the most direct challenge to Goodell’s power yet. This week, The New York Times reported that Jerry Jones, last seen demanding his Cowboys players stand for the national anthem, was hiring a high-powered attorney to help block Goodell’s contract extension. ![]() There is no fire department in the league office because till now there haven’t been any fires. I knew of multiple owners who privately rolled their eyes at issues ranging from Goodell’s salary (he has made over $200 million as commissioner) to his inconsistent disciplinary rulings, but the gravy train was rolling, and they never made a public fuss. Robert Kraft was furious at Goodell during Deflategate, but then the pair appeared to publicly make up. If an owner was ever outwardly critical of Goodell, it was over a team-specific issue, and that owner got back on Goodell’s side as soon as it was resolved. I’ve covered the NFL for more than five years now and, with few very exceptions, I cannot recall NFL owners being anything but effusive in their praise of the commissioner. The league is not exactly collapsing - other leagues would love to have the NFL’s ratings “problems” - but the issues suggest a tough road ahead. And because for so long defeat didn’t seem possible, the upper echelons of football power are simply not equipped for losing.Įarlier this week, Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, was asked what the next short will be he said it would be the NFL. This is an abbreviated list of the issues the league faces and seems unable to solve: double-digit ratings declines over the past two years a protest debate in which players are pitted against the president of the United States, who in turn has pitted himself against the NFL sponsors so unhappy that there was a war of words over whether football is hurting sales of Papa John’s pizza news that CTE could soon be detected in living people and more protracted and convoluted court battles, most recently featuring Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott.įor years, the league has screwed up multiple things and won. However, the 2017 season marks the first time the NFL has met problems that it cannot, in the parlance of our times, tweet through. And despite nearly the entire American public agreeing that head injuries are a problem, only a small fraction of fans say they aren’t football fans because of it. When the league bungled the Deflategate investigation, it still won in the end, and Tom Brady served his four-game punishment. When the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal hit in 2014, commissioner Roger Goodell’s job was never in doubt he was unassailable because of the colossal TV ratings and revenue. This world kept the NFL and its power structure from ever being vulnerable to any truly existential threats. Even when ratings dipped last season, NFL ad revenue was at an all-time high. They have control over television networks. They have built an internal system in which they have full disciplinary control, so they (eventually) win every battle with players. They’ve won every labor negotiation with ease. ![]() Their annual revenue, now halfway to their goal of $25 billion, climbs yearly. Over the past 50 years, the league owners have built a world in which they only win. Somehow, Donald Trump has said that he loves this episode, but the lesson here applies most directly to the group that has won more than any other in modern sports: the National Football League. ![]() “Now he has everything he ever wanted, and he’s going to have to live with it for eternity,” narrator Rod Serling growls. The big reveal is that this isn’t heaven. Much to his dismay, the outburst doesn’t make a difference, and Rocky just keeps winning. Rocky’s hot streak continues unabated - every pool shot goes in - but after a long while, he grows bored and eventually despondent, throwing the chips back at the dealer after he wins a hand. If his opponent has a straight flush, he has a royal flush. There’s a Twilight Zone episode called a “A Nice Place to Visit.” It tells the story of a guy named Rocky, who dies and then is given everything he could ever dream of in the afterlife: unlimited funds, a massive home, and a never-ending hot streak at a casino. Everything You Need to Know About NFL Week 10
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