Does This Issue Hurt The NFL?

mgteich said:

How different is this from the last time the league came after the patriots and took away a 1st rounder and $500K? Did that event hurt the league? Are team profits and values down?

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For one, in this case, they are smearing and attempting to completely destroy the reputation and legacy of the greatest QB of all time.

BronxPatsFan80 said:

For one, in this case, they smearing and attempting to completely destroy the reputation and legacy of the greatest QB of all time.

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1) I started the thread to suggest that the NFL won't be hurt by this.

2) With regard to Brady, I don't think this is about Brady. It's about the patriots. Brady's reputation isn't so fragile that it rests on an accusation that he didn't cooperate with an NFL investigation. Brady could have avoided penalties; perhaps he still can. It is the patriots that the commissioner attacked, because he needed a diversion, and the patriots make a very good one.

The fact is that the vast majority of non-Pats fans are reveling in this, and the media spin is whipping up their frenzy. So no, this will not hurt the NFL, unless someone on a national stage has the balls to call them out on it. So far Brian Baldinger is the only one who isn't toeing the party line.

Short term there'll probably minimal loss of spending by New England fans that the league can surely absorb. Long term the NFL is like so many other enterprises that just became too big for their own good. Football is no longer fun, it's being played on Park Avenue and the actual game is becoming secondary. Many teams can't sell out their stadiums at all and some seem to sell more tickets to the visitors than their home fans. When a incompetent bozo like Goodell is the face of the league it's not going to inspire many people to shell out 4 grand every year when your star player can be removed from play based on zero evidence, at any time. Perhaps other revenue streams will be less affected but I suspect many long term season ticket holders here will think long and hard next year before renewing.
I also suspect that very few of the people who are dancing in the streets sit in the stands on Sunday, they spend a few bucks on fantasy football and that's it.

as opposed to the league dealing with this matter before the AFCC?

yes.......brutally

Depends what you mean by "hurt" . . . Is it really a sport now? Is it just "sports entertainment"?

I think Don Yee nailed it with this observation: "Sadly, today's decision diminishes the NFL as it tells its fans, players and coaches that the games on the field don't count as much as the games played on Park Avenue."

So, if the league continues to conduct itself like a circus with "Game of Thrones" like politics in the background, I'm sure they'll do fine financially. Pro-wrestling does fine financially.

It's about to hurt the NFL big time. Brady is not playing around.

Think back if you will, the league was nice and peaceful before Goody took over. Since then the league has been all over the news dealing with scandals of one kind or another. Yeah this will damage the league if this goes to court and all the skeletons come tumbling out of the closet. Besides that Kraft has been instramental in landing the large tv contracts the owners have enjoyed, if he quits these committees the owners will most likely not get the same kind of tv deal they've gottn in the past.

It will when bradys suspension gets overturned and this is revealed as the farce that it is.

The NFLPA is going to fight this hard because think of the precedent the NFL just set. If ypu dont turn over your phone we can suspend you 4 games.

There was an article yesterday by a patriots hater stating that it is scary if it sticks. Especially when the nfl doesnt have subpoena power.

Basically they can then suspend players for anything. And I think the nflpa sees that.

RIpats88 said:

It will when bradys suspension gets overturned and this is revealed as the farce that it is.

The NFLPA is going to fight this hard because think of the precedent the NFL just set. If ypu dont turn over your phone we can suspend you 4 games.

There was an article yesterday by a patriots hater stating that it is scary if it sticks. Especially when the nfl doesnt have subpoena power.

Basically they can then suspend players for anything. And I think the nflpa sees that.

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Not even the 4 game suspension, they're putting pressure on franchises to put pressure on their players to cooperate. If your player doesn't cooperate we'll take draft picks too. League office is way out of control. I've been using the word corrupt.

Yes, of course.

There are legitimate issues in the league like CTE, drug abuse, domestic violence, retired players pensions, etc that are by and large ignored in favor of the REAL important stuff like air in footballs, sticky towels, and fake crowd noise, video taping ... ya' know... gamesmanship....

All in an effort to distract the populace from the hardcore problems, inherent in this violent game of collisions at high speed, from taking their place in the forefront of the collective consciousness of the masses.

There are degrees of hurt. From a bruise to decapitation. Yes, I think the NFL has been hurt but to what degree, I don't know.

YOUGOTMOSSED said:

Depends what you mean by "hurt" . . . Is it really a sport now? Is it just "sports entertainment"?

I think Don Yee nailed it with this observation: "Sadly, today's decision diminishes the NFL as it tells its fans, players and coaches that the games on the field don't count as much as the games played on Park Avenue."

So, if the league continues to conduct itself like a circus with "Game of Thrones" like politics in the background, I'm sure they'll do fine financially. Pro-wrestling does fine financially.

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I think we have "bingo" here. The reason I'm not going to watch the NFL anymore is because it's become very clear over the last couple of years that it's an entertainment league rather than a competitive league. (Fact of the matter is that this whole sham is happening simply because the Pats are too good for that kind of league and the NFL failed at rigging the rules and cap enough to diminish what Kraft/BB/TB12 are capable of as a group.)

Most fans will be fine with this. Their team will get to hit a Superbowl once every prescribed 10 years, there will be a supervillain team (The Patriots) and a couple lovable losers (Jets/Raiders/Bucs/Browns) with rabid loyal fanbases. And people will be okay with it because the entertainment they get from the sport is based on all the side storylines, social media, etc. and the actual action on gameday is less relevant. The NFL is pretty much now like any other tv show.

I *LOVE* that Brady and the Pats are going to fight this (finally) both for themselves and for the old guard of the NFL that cares about the actual integrity of the game. (Ironic the "bad" guys are the ones that care.) I think they might even be successful. We may even luck out and Roger will finally be ousted as commish. All that said, I suspect the damage is done. They will ultimately have to deliver the product the overall fanbase wants to maintain their ratings and money. And that product is an unfortunate bastardized version of the NFL of yesteryear.

reflexblue said:

Think back if you will, the league was nice and peaceful before Goody took over. Since then the league has been all over the news dealing with scandals of one kind or another. Yeah this will damage the league if this goes to court and all the skeletons come tumbling out of the closet. Besides that Kraft has been instramental in landing the large tv contracts the owners have enjoyed, if he quits these committees the owners will most likely not get the same kind of tv deal they've gottn in the past.

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1) We'll see what the NFL is worth in 10 years. We all have our guesses.

2) You think that the league was great before Goody took over. How might that be measured. How do those who own the teams measure whether the league is in much worse shape now compared to when Goody took over?

mgteich said:

1) We'll see what the NFL is worth in 10 years. We all have our guesses.

2) You think that the league was great before Goody took over. How might that be measured. How do those who own the teams measure whether the league is in much worse shape now compared to when Goody took over?

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The NFL has always made money, they made money before goody took over. The difference is tagliabo keep everything in house, i didn't see scandal after scandal being litigated in the court of public opinion like it has under goodell. Tagliabo would have just made a phone call to kraft if he got a complaint, and that would have been it. No hanging the QB and team out to dry, no trying to ruin the reputation of maybe the greatest QB of all time and certainly on of the best of all time. Goodell is a joke, and if you can't see it sorry to bad.

They will ultimately have to deliver the product the overall fanbase wants to maintain their ratings and money. And that product is an unfortunate bastardized version of the NFL of yesteryear.[/QUOTE]

And when exactly were the good old days of the NFL that you want to go back to. Perhaps it is 1960 before the pesky AFL ruined the game? Were the 70's the good old days? the 80's? Of course, in all those era, the patriots were the #4 professional sport in Boston (I almost didn't include the word sport; that would have made the patriots 5th after college hockey). Is in the 90's?

Or are the best days of the NFL (especially for patriot fans) the time between 2001 and now, the first 15 years of the new century, the era of Brady, Manning, Brees, Rogers and Rothlessberger.

WHO'S KIDDING WHO?
The VERY best of times for the NFL, and especially for patriot fans has been the last 15 years, NOT any other era.

reflexblue said:

The NFL has always made money, they made money before goody took over. The difference is tagliabo keep everything in house, i didn't see scandal after scandal being litigated in the court of public opinion like it has under goodell. Tagliabo would have just made a phone call to kraft if he got a complaint, and that would have been it. No hanging the QB and team out to dry, no trying to ruin the reputation of maybe the greatest QB of all time and certainly on of the best of all time. Goodell is a joke, and if you can't see it sorry to bad.

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Goodell has done a poor job. but not bad enough job for his employers to fire him. That doesn't mean that the NFL is terrible. That is no reason to want to go back to the 80's and 90's.

mgteich said:

How different is this from the last time the league came after the patriots and took away a 1st rounder and $500K? Did that event hurt the league? Are team profits and values down?

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Well for one, Brady and the Pats are fighting back this time.

I'm with Cuban. He's a pretty smart guy.