Season over before it starts

AsylumGuido · 06-25-2020, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by iceshack149

We are about to see a perfect storm of 1/2 empty stadiums (and maybe missed games) due to the Corona virus and angry fans that will no longer buy anything NFL related this season. The viewership will decline whether you want to believe it or not, Guido.

This will mean a large drop in income. The salary cap will be affected. Contracts will shrink. Players will be angry at the outcome and wonder how they got to that point. Who knows? Maybe that will bring the NFL back down to earth and the game and its players might be watchable again.

The NFL generates $11 billion of revenue annually. $3 billion of that comes from butts in the stands. That includes parking, concessions, game day merchandise, etc. The remaining $8 billion come from contracted revenues with broadcasting partners. The total revenue will absolutely be down. But $8 billion still places the product as a huge success. Sure, angry fans may not buy merchandise. But the vast majority of fans worldwide are not angry. As for viewership. Every person that would have normally been in the stands will now be tuning in instead. Viewership in one small demographic may indeed be down. But that will not offset the rest of the population that is starved for the distraction of the actual game itself.

And don't worry about the future earnings and contract implications. COVID-19 will have hundreds of times more effect on those than the supposed refusal of a small minority of fans that actually do decide to "tune out". Those concerns are already being addressed by the league and the NFLPA as we speak.

06-25-2020, 01:10 PM	#11
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,622	Re: Season over before it starts Originally Posted by iceshack149 We are about to see a perfect storm of 1/2 empty stadiums (and maybe missed games) due to the Corona virus and angry fans that will no longer buy anything NFL related this season. The viewership will decline whether you want to believe it or not, Guido. This will mean a large drop in income. The salary cap will be affected. Contracts will shrink. Players will be angry at the outcome and wonder how they got to that point. Who knows? Maybe that will bring the NFL back down to earth and the game and its players might be watchable again. The NFL generates $11 billion of revenue annually. $3 billion of that comes from butts in the stands. That includes parking, concessions, game day merchandise, etc. The remaining $8 billion come from contracted revenues with broadcasting partners. The total revenue will absolutely be down. But $8 billion still places the product as a huge success. Sure, angry fans may not buy merchandise. But the vast majority of fans worldwide are not angry. As for viewership. Every person that would have normally been in the stands will now be tuning in instead. Viewership in one small demographic may indeed be down. But that will not offset the rest of the population that is starved for the distraction of the actual game itself. And don't worry about the future earnings and contract implications. COVID-19 will have hundreds of times more effect on those than the supposed refusal of a small minority of fans that actually do decide to "tune out". Those concerns are already being addressed by the league and the NFLPA as we speak.
	“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill