NFL 2019

The NFL owners want to add more playoff games and an extra regular season game so they can lower ticket and concessions prices for the fans . They’re just too humble to admit that’s their motivation here.

Could have sworn non-impact games were voted down a while back. So the results of these wouldn’t count?

The results ‘count’, although nearly never in doubt. So Alabama vs Georgia State, Kent State and UT Martin will all go down as wins. But there is college football preseason in that there are non-competitive games that fans still pay for, used to get the players warmed up for the ‘real’ games.

You could say these changes are pulled by fans. They want more football, and they’re willing to pay for it.

They want more NFL football, and they don’t care if the players get hurt.

They could have more football. Historically they have been disinterested in the USFL, XFL, AAFL (or whatever it was called), etc.

It already feels like the new XFL is going to fail. You can just see that it pains the sports talk guys to even talk about it a little bit.

When they would rather headline another Tua’s hip story with no actual content than discuss the actual XFL games that just happened, it’s pretty much over.

Not sure why the players are going along with this. The math under the proposal means the players would play 6.25% more snaps, but for only a 0.5% increase in revenue sharing.

This week will be a good indicator of the sustainabilty of the XFL. Attendance was up 10% from week 1 to 2. However, tv ratings fell significantly. They weren’t bad ratings, but they were down from the previous week so if they can level off this week they are probably ok, if they drop again this week that is a pretty bad sign.

I had high hopes for the XFL (and AAF) originally, but they are both just tried to copy the NFL playbook and hope it would work because offseason. I was really hoping they’d be innovative and have a good streaming platform or better ways for modern digital-savvy always-online fans to engage with the sport but they are just copying the NFL and going for network deal money. So I have the same problem with them that I have with the NFL, in that I’m not going to subscribe to cable (or one of the cable-equivalent streaming services) just to watch the ocassional football game

Trying to be NFL junior with the exact same business model won’t work because you can’t compete with real NFL. They’ve already hoovered up the vast majority of market share and dollars in their business model. I think the XFL is d0med.

I’ve always thought this XFL reincranation was McMahon trying to cash in on Trump’s crowd by giving them “real Merican football without the politics and the kneeling.” The problem is shitty football is shitty football, and no likes watching shitty football.

I agree with you both but Tortilla is on point. The XFL needs to set itself apart in some way since it is NOT the NFL. Better engagement in some way would be ideal. “Everything is the same but now it’s out of season,” is not gonna work.

I have to think they will be getting something they want in the process. For instance, removing marijuana off the banned substances list.

If they are going to reduce the number of preseason games I hope they get some practices back.

The new CBA would shrink the annual testing window for marijuana to two weeks.

But you still shouldn’t drive back from Mexico with 157 pounds of weed in your car.

It’s so fucking ridiculous. Instead of just admitting that it is stupid for them to care about weed, they do one of those idiot things where they keep the penalties, but go out of their way to only catch the dumbest people.

For heaven’s sake, just take it off the list. If you want these guys to go through repeated car wrecks every weekend, let them have their fucking weed.

It’s ridiculous, because the toxic painkiller shit they routinely pump into these guys to keep them playing is far worse for their bodies than marijuana. Oh, you got speared in the back with a helmet and now you have a lacerated spleen/kidney? No problem, that’s football.

Oh, you want to smoke a joint? Oh no, can’t do that.

I mean, yeah, I agree with that.

I am pretty sure that the XFL exists to collect franchise fees every decade.

Created NFL 2020 thread, as it seemed about time:

But more games means more revenue, and the players get a bigger share. Going to 17 games would give the players about 7.35% more money by my math.

I mean, I don’t think it’s worth it given the toll on their bodies, but if the NFL is really putting two deals on the table and letting the players choose that really takes the sting out of them wanting to go to 17 games.

I suspect from other stuff I’ve read there is other stuff in the 17 week deal for the players as well that isn’t on offer (at the moment) in the 16 week deal.