convertedpatsfan

I understand where you're coming from. I just think it is plausible is all. I don't think it takes a ton of people to do it either.

Consider the TV contracts. The current set is based on ESPN paying $1.1B per year while receiving $175M in ad revenue. Will the next contract be as friendly? That constitutes 1/4 of the current TV revenue. That says nothing of the other networks. Imagine they want a 5% reduction in the contract instead of the 20% increase the owners were banking on, or even the status quo level as ad revenue losses hit the networks hard during the recession.

And you wouldn't know in New England with the 50-year wait-list, but NFL season ticket sales are declining by an estimated 1 to 2%, the third year in a row they've declined. Ticket sales are another source of shared revenue meaning the Pats get 60% of their home draw, 40% of the road draw, so if other teams start struggling to sell tickets, even the Pats will feel the impact on their bottom line. And this decline started before the lockout.

I understand that we don't have to make grand announcements about it. But I think if fans were able to vocalize their displeasure and show their frustration in a measurable way in dollars and cents that both the union and the NFL would take the next round of discussions much more seriously. If by reducing the viewership a bit (networks ask for 5% reduction in the contracts would be almost $5M), going to fewer games in person (3% decline in ticket prices is $45M, or $1.5M per team), and buying less merchandise (easiest thing to do, assume cutting the $4M+ they get to $2M), it would be enough to show the NFL that growth is not guaranteed while chopping almost $9M in revenue from every team in the league. Some would call that peanuts, but that would be enough for some teams to turn a small profit into a loss.

The Packers released their financial statements, and they made $5.2M. But they had revenues of nearly $258M. That's roughly 2% profit, and a swing of a couple million dollars would change things significantly. Obviously other larger franchises are in better shape, but it wouldn't take as much as you think for the message to be sent.

Wolfpack

Coors may no longer be the "official beer of the NFL" but they'll still be advertising during NFL games. You just won't see NFL logos on the commercials or on the cases of Coors beer in the grocery store.

USCPatriot

LMAO!!!! You could save alot of money not buying Sunday ticket, secondly you CAN go without it, you just don't want to. That's not boycotting anything, what you said is just good common sense.

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AndyJohnson

Maybe its just me, but nothing I do is designed to support the NFL.
I buy directv solely because I want the NFL package. I buy Patriot stuff solely because I like to own it. If I lived in the market, I would go to games, because I would enjoy it.
I don't know what I would accomplish by diminishing my enjoyment in order to send some kind of message to Bob Kraft that is so vague and minor he will never get it.
Its like saying I wont watch a baseball game because they went on strike. If I like baseball, I am only hurting myself.

Tunescribe

That's why I made the point earlier that only a casual fan would abandon the NFL because of this.

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Joker

I will NOT watch replacement players if this drags out

I will NOT support a team of ill prepared, two weeks practice and ready to go players

I will NOT...uh...um...who the "F" am I kidding...as soon as they hit the field I'll forget this crap ever happened....THEY(owners and players) KNOW THIS...wading through all this legalese and he said/she said bullcrap is NOT what I, as a fan, have any enjoyment in. I'd rather be talking the draft...and beyond...but THEY obviously want to play out this "We Who Die With The Most Cash Win" passion play,at the total and complete indifference to how WE feel about it.

convertedpatsfan

I've heard the counterargument that casual fans won't hold it against the league and be back in droves.

But if it's true that casual fans would abandon the NFL, that would be a huge blow to the TV contracts which are the biggest revenue source for the NFL.

According to the Packers income statements, TV and radio contracts accounted for over $95M of their total revenue, or more than 1/3 of total revenue. The next closest revenue stream is tickets at $47M. So if casual fans do abandon the NFL and viewership numbers are down for the next few years, the next round of TV contracts in 2013 could look very different.

AndyJohnson

I believe that if replacement players come in and play the entire 2011 season,and everyone thereafter, attendance and viewership would suffer tremendously in 2011, get a lot better in 2012, and by 2013 there will be no difference, and 99% of the current players will have 'crossed the line' anyway.

AndyJohnson

Can you link the Packers financials?

IllegalContact

not sure if you are responding to me, but I wasn't talking about not watching football.......simply making sure that I don't feed their greed.

I guess you could say that with the 55" TV, the massive wrap around couch, the new grill on my deck, that I was already heading away from wasting time and money in foxboro......I've been to at least 75-80 games........for the longest time, going to a pats game was cheaper than going out to dinner. then came the big money and the new stadium and all the noise that has nothig to do with football. I even used to go to patriot place from time to time. but I won't go there any more as I can get anything they have there anywhere else (and Legacy place is much nicer anyway).

I can enjoy the pro football plenty all while making a conscious effort to give them as little money as possible.