Report: NFL to Lose $500 Million This Season

Members of the Dallas Cowboys take a knee before the start of the national anthem at an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 25, 2017. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A report says that the NFL is slated to lose a decent chunk of cash as TV ratings drop across the country.

Sports website Outkick the Coverage, in a report, says that TV networks and the NFL have suffered “several hundred million in lost revenue” during the 2017 season, and the entities will lose as much as $500 million by the time of the Super Bowl.

Many fans have expressed outrage and called for a boycott of the league as players protest during the national anthem.

“There is agreement that the NFL needs to find a resolution to the protests, but the most alarming thing for the league and its TV partners is simply eliminating the protest won’t return the NFL to its ratings golden era, just two short years past,” Outkick reported.

“There’s a significant belief that the league’s TV partners, who are facing up to $500 million in losses this year, need a fundamental restructuring of TV windows to avoid losing even more money in the years ahead.”

In a report from NBC’s ProFootballTalk, ratings for NFL games on Thanksgivings shows a decline in TV ratings.

The crowd look on in the fourth quarter as the Houston Texans offense lines up against the Baltimore Ravens defense at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Nov. 27, 2017. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Vikings-Lions game generated a rating of 11.4, which is down about 12.3 percent from last year’s Vikings-Lions game, and it’s 7.3 percent down from the Eagles-Lions game in 2015, according to PFT.

The Cowboys-Chargers game later that day saw a 12.4 rating in 2017, representing a drop of a whopping 20.5 percent as compared with last year’s Washington-Dallas game and a 19 percent drop from the Panthers-Cowboys two years ago, the report stated.

The Thanksgiving Redskins-Giants game had a 9.7 rating, down 10.2 percent from last year’s Steelers-Colts game. In comparison to the Bears-Packers game in 2015, the game saw a massive 33.6 percent drop in ratings.

“Last year’s seepage has turned into a major break in the dam. The league is now down about three million viewers per game from 2013 and 2014. When the specific teams appearing, the scope of the telecast and the week of the season are taken into account, the decline is even more dramatic: more than four million viewers, or in excess of 20%,” according to Forbes magazine.

While it’s not exactly clear why the NFL TV ratings have dropped this season, many have suggested that the protests during the national anthem are a prime culprit. It’s also worth noting that many people aren’t participating in “traditional” TV viewing as they once did. Injuries to star players—like Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers or up-and-coming quarterback Deshaun Watson—can also cause people not to tune in.

And according to NFL expert Clay Travis, “The NFL is often putting a poor product on the field and NFL fans are choosing to spend their time doing something else.” Penalties, bad play, and game stoppages also lose people, he noted.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that team owners and league executives will consider making changes to the pre-game national anthem performance.

President Donald Trump, perhaps the most vocal critic of the anthem protests, tweeted: “The NFL is now thinking about a new idea - keeping teams in the Locker Room during the National Anthem next season. That’s almost as bad as kneeling! When will the highly paid Commissioner finally get tough and smart? This issue is killing your league!”

Olivier Vernon #54 of the New York Giants kneels during the national anthem prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Nov. 12, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

During the Giants-Redskins game, Giants player Olivier Vernon took a knee for the anthem. Trump made a reference to it last week, retweeting a photo of the player with a comment: “Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players. The Commissioner has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss!”

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From The Epoch Times