Cuban have a point?

[hepcat]

Mark Cuban isn't in a position to call ANYONE greedy, but he does have a point.  The NFL is in danger of saturating the market.

[Thal]

We need to remember that the NBA went through its phase of popularity too. Then everything settles down. The NFL will suffer from similar thing. Once the NFL stops being multi - ethnic a lot of people will lose interest. Again, the NBA went through that phase as well. Give it 10 years, they will. Right now the people that follows the NBA are basketball purist and international followers who are just falling in love with the game. Those people wouldn't give a damn how many times the nfl is on tv, they're not watching it.

[d-dave]

While the NFL is the hottest ticket now a days, there is a point of market saturation they are rapidly approaching.  What they need to learn is what the NBA found out when they locked out.  That people will survive without it.  It's entertainment, which can reach a point of "who cares anymore."  We're really good at finding other things we care about.

 

Let's look at the NCAA's March Madness.  It is one of the most expensive problems in the US.  Workers waste tons of time, lose productivity because of their brackets.  But its only for this month of the year.  There is build up in the regular season, a blip about commitments, but it goes away for a while.  People have a chance to recharge their batteries.

 

The point is, people need time to want it again.  There is a big ole catharsis moment (the final game), and everyone looks at their brackets, settle up on bets, AND WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR.  The NFL is becoming very 365.  With the NFLN and the constant FA/Spring/Summer news feed, we're literally inundated with news and information all year long.  This does serve to build up the excitement for the next season, but too much and we get frustrated.  Look at our own fan base this year with FA.

 

I'm cool with there being an event (Super Bowl, Draft) then a good long stretch of nothing.  People need to get distracted by Baseball or golf or whatever.  No one should live for football 24/7/365...  They'll go crazy!  We'll have plenty of talk about come august for training camps.

 

As far as adding more Thursday games, other games during the week, I have a BIG problem there.  Sunday football (with an occasional Thursday night and Monday night) game is pretty sacred.  Its why I clear my Sunday's during the season.  Sorry Honey, I'm not going to see your parents, Panthers play at 1:00!  I also have to get up super duper early during the week (4:30), so staying up that late in my mid 30s isn't as awesome and easy as it was when i was 26...  So keep my games on the weekends! Don't mess with College football either by playing on Saturday.  Talk about giving the finger to your future employees.

 

So the NFL and Goodell need to tread lightly when making the NFL "bigger."  Slow the bubble, cut the heat, and you will make it last longer before it fades.  I think with the concussion issues really being a lot bigger than most folks think about, the NFL's time is limited.  While that might push them to try to make more money before the bubble bursts, they'll burst it too fast if they're not careful.

 

Please forgive me if I make little sense.  2 hours of sleep does not a good typist make...

[Happy Panther]

I'm talking about having NFC or AFC team based in London like they're discussing. The travel arrangements alone are staggering. Can you imagine having to fly across the Atlantic for 10 games a year? Player complain about traversing the country, now you want to send them across the globe? Forget about the 5-8 hour difference in time zones.

The flight time isn't all that bad for east coast teams. It is 6 hours from LGA to SFO and 7 from LGA to HEA. I assume you wouldn't have San Diego play. Or maybe they would who knows.

 

 

The killer would be whatever team is in London having to do 8 trips

[Happy Panther]

The NFL product is still a great TV product but certainly being saturated. The biggest issue for me is the pace of play. Being at BofA it gets absolutely brutal sometimes with automatic reviews, injury timeouts, 2 minute warnings. The amount of time that players are just standing around is silly. And you are trapped listening to stupid ads. At least the internet works now in the stadium.

 

Having said that it is still worth my dollar. But they are talking about having a central review in NYC during games for controversial calls which would potentially slow the game down even more - what happens when 3 games need review?

 

Watching on TV is still great because you can flip

[Moose87Banks]

Cuban is absolutely right. Goodell is making this league unwatchable. I watched the steelers, seahawks superbowl of 2006 last night. I was amazed at the hits these refs were allowing. Thing have changed majorly in the last 8 years. The way it's going, I feel Cuban puts it right on the money.

[Jackofalltrades]

Cuban is absolutely right. Goodell is making this league unwatchable. I watched the steelers, seahawks superbowl of 2006 last night. I was amazed at the hits these refs were allowing. Thing have changed majorly in the last 8 years. The way it's going, I feel Cuban puts it right on the money.

I have zero problem with making the game safer, it's all the other stuff that bothers me.

[Moose87Banks]

I have zero problem with making the game safer, it's all the other stuff that bothers me.

But how much safer??? In the end these are guys who have built their body's for this stuff their whole lives. Why add 15 yards for hitting a guy a little too high? But it's not just the hits, it's everything that comes with them.

[tondi]

If adults can get paid to beat the everliving hell out of each other for sport I don't know why the NFL is forced to play pantywaist football so it doesn't get sued by a bunch of cretin lawyers.  I guess the gutless, pieces of poo who hate a sport that makes money for everyone involved can't get it banned legislatively so they are going to try to achieve the same thing in the courts just like people of their ilk have been doing for decades.

 

 

[Jackofalltrades]

But how much safer??? In the end these are guys who have built their body's for this stuff their whole lives. Why add 15 yards for hitting a guy a little too high? But it's not just the hits, it's everything that comes with them.

I don't mean completely sterilizing the game, but I think protecting the head is reasonable, same with taking away shots to guys knees. It is and will always be a violent game, but you can reign in some of the vicious hits to certain areas.

[CRA]

Cuban is absolutely right. Goodell is making this league unwatchable. I watched the steelers, seahawks superbowl of 2006 last night. I was amazed at the hits these refs were allowing. Thing have changed majorly in the last 8 years. The way it's going, I feel Cuban puts it right on the money.

It isn't Goodell....he is just the face of the owners decisions.

[PanthersClinic]

So then Cuban is speaking from a knowledgable perspective as an owner in an overexposed such league right? Why the "mind your business" attitude.

The NBA has a commisioner who is discussing huge changes that Stern was too overprotective of to change.

 

OK and maybe we should listen if Zimbabwe wants to warn us about hyperinflation.

 

I trust the NFL knows what it's doing. The Thursday simulcast isn't a huge change as most already watch it on NFL network.

 

The international games are stupid though.

[stirs]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/24/nfl-may-expand-to-four-london-games-in-2015/