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I’m going to jump right to the point on this… The NFL has a preseason problem and it needs to be fixed now. NFL fans aren’t showing up to games, NFL stars are getting injured (see Nelson, Jordy), their superstars (see Rodgers, Aaron) are openly complaining about the length of the preseason and the overall lack of interest and competition in the games is a glaring blemish on the NFL’s corporate shield. Four games is too many and the time is now to make the change. The question remains how. My proposed solution solves a multitude of NFL problems, and is one that is beneficial for the fans, players and owners. Here goes nothing/everything:
The Issue
Lets break down some of the wants for the players, owners and fans:
Players:
Owners:
Fans:
The Proposal
I believe there is a compromise here that is a win for every one of the requests above. The proposal on the surface is about as easy as it gets and really only takes two bullet points to sum up:
Why it Works:
Let’s start with the players. The players win here is significant. Not only do they basically trade two preseason games for one regular season game, they also get an additional bye week during the season. This would be a major selling point. To be able to have two full weeks during the season where a player could go home, see there family or just heal up from injuries would be massively beneficial. There is less of a chance that a player gets hurt in a meaningless game since there are only two exhibition games instead of four and revenues should not suffer whatsoever. If I’m an NFL player I’m happily trading two preseason games for a bye and one additional regular season game, no questions asked.
How about the owners? There is a loss here in stadium revenue. Instead of two home preseason games they only get one without adding any additional home games to the regular season schedule. I believe the benefit coming back to them well outweighs the loss in one preseason game’s revenue. First of all they would still get to split the revenue from the neutral site/international game. Secondly the owners would be able to sell the networks two additional weeks of regular season action. Even though only one game is being added they would actually add two weeks of regular season programming because the byes would be spread out through a 19 week season. The NFL is currently being paid $1.9 billion for programming from the major networks each year. If you break that out over 21 weeks (17 regular season, 3 playoff and 1 super bowl) that’s about $90 million per week. Assuming the NFL gets paid more for Playoffs and the Super Bowl let’s generously round that number down to $50 million per week. Even if it were that low, the NFL would still gain $100 million in revenue by adding two regular season weeks to the season. I have to believe that would be close to, at minimum, breaking even for the loss of two NFL preseason games. They would also be able to grow their product in new countries with 16 games per season having the potential to be played overseas, including all the marquee teams (no offense Jacksonville). This would also be a boon for NFL player safety by giving the players an additional week off during the season. Overall the wins are enormous for NFL teams and owners.
Lastly, lets think about the fans. As a fan, I’m more than happy to trade two preseason games to watch an additional regular season game. I’m also happy to get two additional weeks of regular season programming without adding additional risk to the current players. If you eliminate two preseason games, the starters play about four preseason quarters in those games anyway, I’d much rather have those four quarters mean something. As a season ticket holder I’d no longer have to pay full price for an NFL preseason ticket and I don’t have to worry about one of my home games being lost to an international site. I do not see any downsides as a fan.
The Neutral Site / International Game
I’m not going to delve into this a ton, but the question could become how do you book these games. I believe there are a variety of ways to do this and here are a few of my favorites:
As far as which stadiums get to host the games, this would be another potential win for the NFL as they could auction off these games to the highest bidder.
So there you have it, my “perfect” solution to the NFL’s preseason problem. Please comment below with your thoughts and why you either hate or love it (there’s never middle ground). If you love it make sure to share it on Social Media!
Thank you for reading. Andy Herman is a staff writer for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow him on Twitter @SconnieSports. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
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The Issue
Lets break down some of the wants for the players, owners and fans:
Players:
- Less games
- More time off during the season
- No loss in revenue/salary
Owners:
- No loss in game revenue (open to trading regular season games for preseason games)
- A way to help player safety without admitting that it’s a problem or reducing games
- Additional revenue by adding games to the regular season
- A larger international presence leading to more revenue and interest overseas
Fans:
- Healthy star players
- Less preseason games
- Don’t want to pay full regular season price for two meaningless preseason games
- Don’t want to lose home games for games overseas
The Proposal
I believe there is a compromise here that is a win for every one of the requests above. The proposal on the surface is about as easy as it gets and really only takes two bullet points to sum up:
- Reduce the NFL preseason from four games to two games
- Add two weeks to the NFL regular season–one international or neutral site game for each team and one additional bye week for each team
Why it Works:
Let’s start with the players. The players win here is significant. Not only do they basically trade two preseason games for one regular season game, they also get an additional bye week during the season. This would be a major selling point. To be able to have two full weeks during the season where a player could go home, see there family or just heal up from injuries would be massively beneficial. There is less of a chance that a player gets hurt in a meaningless game since there are only two exhibition games instead of four and revenues should not suffer whatsoever. If I’m an NFL player I’m happily trading two preseason games for a bye and one additional regular season game, no questions asked.
How about the owners? There is a loss here in stadium revenue. Instead of two home preseason games they only get one without adding any additional home games to the regular season schedule. I believe the benefit coming back to them well outweighs the loss in one preseason game’s revenue. First of all they would still get to split the revenue from the neutral site/international game. Secondly the owners would be able to sell the networks two additional weeks of regular season action. Even though only one game is being added they would actually add two weeks of regular season programming because the byes would be spread out through a 19 week season. The NFL is currently being paid $1.9 billion for programming from the major networks each year. If you break that out over 21 weeks (17 regular season, 3 playoff and 1 super bowl) that’s about $90 million per week. Assuming the NFL gets paid more for Playoffs and the Super Bowl let’s generously round that number down to $50 million per week. Even if it were that low, the NFL would still gain $100 million in revenue by adding two regular season weeks to the season. I have to believe that would be close to, at minimum, breaking even for the loss of two NFL preseason games. They would also be able to grow their product in new countries with 16 games per season having the potential to be played overseas, including all the marquee teams (no offense Jacksonville). This would also be a boon for NFL player safety by giving the players an additional week off during the season. Overall the wins are enormous for NFL teams and owners.
Lastly, lets think about the fans. As a fan, I’m more than happy to trade two preseason games to watch an additional regular season game. I’m also happy to get two additional weeks of regular season programming without adding additional risk to the current players. If you eliminate two preseason games, the starters play about four preseason quarters in those games anyway, I’d much rather have those four quarters mean something. As a season ticket holder I’d no longer have to pay full price for an NFL preseason ticket and I don’t have to worry about one of my home games being lost to an international site. I do not see any downsides as a fan.
The Neutral Site / International Game
I’m not going to delve into this a ton, but the question could become how do you book these games. I believe there are a variety of ways to do this and here are a few of my favorites:
- AFC/NFC rivalry game
- Setup a new rivalry game every year between an AFC and NFC team. That game would be played at a neutral location every year. Examples could be Giants vs. Jets at the Meadowlands with one half of the stadium Jets fans and the other half Giants fans. Another example could be Steelers vs. Eagles played at Penn State. Houston vs. Dallas at San Antonio, Chicago vs. Buffalo in Canada, Arizona vs. Oakland in Mexico City, San Francisco vs. San Diego in Hawaii. It would need to be polished up but the possibilities are endless. Maybe the only downside would be that you could play the same AFC team twice in the same season, one neutral game and one either home or away
- AFC vs. NFC in the same order as the teams finished from a season ago. If this was from last season you would get to see Seattle vs. New England, Green Bay vs. Indianapolis, Denver vs. Dallas, etc.. etc… This would be highly entertaining and would keep the schedule competitive. Again these would be played at predetermined neutral fields and the NFL could spread the wealth to Canada, London and other areas where they would like to see the game grow
- AFC vs. NFC division vs. division. Right now the schedule is setup so that each team plays every team in their own division twice, each team in one NFC division (for the Packers this year it is the NFC West), every team in an AFC division (this year for the Packers it is the AFC West) and the team in the other two NFC divisions that finished at the same spot in their division (this year for Green Bay it is Dallas and Carolina). All you would need to do is add one game against either the AFC North, East, or South w/ the team that finished in the same spot and you would fit right in with the NFL’s scheduling formula
As far as which stadiums get to host the games, this would be another potential win for the NFL as they could auction off these games to the highest bidder.
So there you have it, my “perfect” solution to the NFL’s preseason problem. Please comment below with your thoughts and why you either hate or love it (there’s never middle ground). If you love it make sure to share it on Social Media!
Thank you for reading. Andy Herman is a staff writer for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow him on Twitter @SconnieSports. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
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