Jerry Jones is worried about the NFL’s image.
Another Sunday and yet another test for NFL TV ratings. It is far too early to judge whether the 2017 NFL season is a failure and some people are rooting for the league to fail for not clamping down on players protests during the National Anthem. The Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is troubled and feels the NFL has been damaged by national anthem protests and added that Cowboys’ sponsors are concerned. Week seven TV ratings fell but TV ad revenue was up by two percent in September. The NFL has bigger problems than the protests. Players committing crimes, franchises moving, a shift from average workers buying tickets to those who could afford luxury boxes, club seats and personal seat licenses. There is the concussion issue and that more than players kneeling during the national anthem and a President disparaging the protestors and then urging the owners to fire the protesters will hurt football. Disrupting the players’ pipeline from Pop Warner to High School football to college can leave a far more lasting impact. That disruption may come from parents who refuse to sign a permission paper for their children to play tackle football on the youth level.
There is a reason that the National Football League’s ownership group and NFL medical experts will not acknowledge a link between head injuries suffered on the field and brain damage. That would scare away parents so denying the problem is the best defense. So far, most fans don’t care about permanent brain injuries, fans root for dirty laundry, a uniform. Players come and go with only a handful making a significant difference in the game. Fans have no idea how many players who entertained them on Sunday or Monday Night or Thursday Night or in playoff games are now on Medicaid or SSI. The protests may be the least of the NFL’s problems.
Houston Texans owner Robert McNair has created a public relations nightmare
