NFL ratings down and now the attendance is suffering?

[Devlin]

Over saturation, get rid of thurs fb, maybe Sun nite?

baseball, waayy too long. Get in the box, don't be going out to mound every 20 pitches.
Take the ball from catcher and pitch.

Why do batters, about all, who wear batting gloves, spit into their hands? No gloves, I understand.

[Covet]

Sunday Night Football is great! But with TNF, both teams should be coming off a bye.

[pwaldo]

baseball, waayy too long. Get in the box, don't be going out to mound every 20 pitches.

Baseball games on average take about as long as a football game. Sometimes they go longer and sometimes they go quicker but usually it is the same.

[budler]

There are a lot of reasons people are not watching football. It will never go away just look at boxing what it was and is now. Losing is one of the big issue. Colts vs Broncos I see prices at $6.00 Hey a beer will cost you more.

[pwaldo]

With ticket prices rising, parking rising, concessions rising, people just don't want to foot out $500 for a game for a family of 4 in nose bleed seats.

Except with less people showing up the prices of tickets to football games have plummeted. In the Ravens article they detail how cheap seats can be had. Other teams are seeing the same thing. So I honestly don't think it is that people can't afford the games it is just that they do not want to go under any circumstance. Maybe the NFL would be better off trying to get US fans to go the games instead of this pipe dream of teams in Mexico City and London which they seem to think is more important.

[Rabs]

You know the NFL has a problem when no one knows what constitutes a catch anymore (see the end of the Steelers/Patriots game). Add that to the added protection and concern over player safety (a hard hit is a flag almost everytime nowadays) and you have a game that turns a lot of fans away. Not to mention all the political stuff this year and the amount of penalties in general. The future of the NFL looks fairly bleak at this point.

[pwaldo]

I think at this point we can clearly see some teams are suffering attendance wise. Not sure about the rest of the league but for a few teams that is going to be a continued problem next year as well.

[coltsfansince85]

The product is just garbage- too many commercials, too little loyalty from players and teams, too much off-field bull™™™™ with guys beating women, being involved in shootings, drugs, etc. Proper football (soccer) is in the ascendancy, it's a better product and it's easier to consume. Sure there will be detractors, but that's neither stopped it being the world's game nor has it affected the sport's growth.

[pwaldo]

I'd be curious to see if soccer has gotten any boost at all. It seems like it has been since the 90s that they always say soccer will take off in the US but it just never materializes. I know baseball, basketball, and hockey are all either stable or gaining on football but I don't hear or know enough about ratings and attendance of soccer to see if it has made any increase recently. Anybody know any soccer figures?

[Precision19608]

I'm sure I'm going to hit a nerve here but the whole sitting/kneeling during the Anthem has been a deep divide across the league.

I proudly served my Country and YES the Anthem does hold a special place within me so yes seeing any player of any race or any religious background sit or kneel bothers me and no I have not watched or went to a single game since this has started.

I truly believe in a persons freedoms and I would never attack with words or otherwise a players right to do as they please but making MILLIONS of dollars does put them in a brighter light and with that said let them REALLY prove their point, If they choose to sit or take a knee then have them forfeit their salary for that game. That way they can put there money where their mouth is. Then the NFL should take that forfeited salary and donate it to a charity like the Wounded Warriors.

No being an NFL player is not easy work but they are role models to so many and their status in society comes with a price that they knew the minute they signed their contract.

Just my 2 cents and I'm sure I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this but if you really look at why the NFL is suffering then look no further than its players and their protests.