Mark Cuban: "The NFL is 10 years away from an implosion."

[tk13]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/...away-implosion

Cuban: With TV deal, NFL is 'hoggy'
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com


DALLAS - Mark Cuban, the outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner, predicts a drastic decline in the popularity of the NFL over the next decade due to the league's greed.

"I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion," Cuban said Sunday evening when his pregame conversation with reporters, which covered a broad range of topics, swayed toward football. "I'm just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they're getting hoggy. Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way.

"I'm just telling you, when you've got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That's rule number one of business."

Cuban is specifically referring to the NFL expanding their television package. He considers it a poor business decision for the NFL, which consistently dominates TV ratings, to play games on days other than Sunday and Monday.

In February, the NFL announced a one-year deal with CBS and NFL Network partnering to televise Thursday night games. CBS, which won the bidding for the Thursday night package over NBC, ABC, Fox and Turner, will air the games during the first eight weeks of the season, simulcasting them with the NFL Network. The league's cable network will exclusively show six Thursday night games later in the season with CBS' top announcing tandem of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth. The NFL Network will also have a Saturday doubleheader in Week 16.

The NFL started a limited package of Thursday night games in 2006. The NFL Network showed 13 Thursday night games last season.

"They're trying to take over every night of TV," Cuban said. "Initially, it'll be, 'Yeah, they're the biggest-rating thing that there is.' OK, Thursday, that's great, regardless of whether it impacts [the NBA] during that period when we cross over. Then if it gets Saturday, now you're impacting colleges. Now it's on four days a week. ...

"It's all football. At some point, the people get sick of it."

Cuban said the NFL is making a mistake by valuing television money over the convenience of fans who are used to planning for their NFL teams to play on Sundays with the occasional Monday night game. He compared it to the decline in popularity of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" after the game show expanded to air five days a week.

"They put it on every night," Cuban said. "Not 100 percent analogous, but they handled it the same. I'm just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

The league and the NCAA's wealth is threatened by CTE lawsuits.

I have no faith that the owners' won't settle at being the Kings of America. They seem to me to have Rockefeller-levels of greed that isn't suited to choosing sustainability over the risk of astronomical levels of wealth if consequence is failure of the league.

And this is why I stress a high profile player death as being the harbinger of football's end: rule changes that turn the game into flag football will probably not be well-received if they're brought in on the heels of a tragedy. I'd put money on the fact that tackling will be legislated out of the game within the next quarter century but I'm guessing that point the NFL, NCAA/NFHS will have made such gradual changes over this coming decade that only the most die-hard fans of football as a sport will complain and therefore turn away from the product.

However, if a player like Drew Brees is killed on Sunday Night Football with millions watching it will be impossible to play the game under current (and already compromised, in my opinion) rules and the rule-making bodies will have to accelerate this shift in the game without the same level of acceptance in fans.

People haven massively blown this out of proportion. The NFL has taken reasonable steps to improve the equipment and the game to head off future lawsuits, but they do not suffer an existential threat from parents.

It has recently become fashionable to read these NFL concussion stories and the over-the-top conclusions not with skepticism, but by thoughtfully scratching your beard and nodding gravely. Not as many people are stepping back, looking at the situation realistically, and calling BS on that whole thesis, or at least not as often as they should. The basic fundamentals are still true: parents are still going to let their kids play on Fridays, the best are still going to take advantage of scholarships, people like to watch football, and there's nothing better to do on Sunday evenings in the winter. We're not going to morph into a nation who plays and watches freaking soccer.

And this:

I'd put money on the fact that tackling will be legislated out of the game within the next quarter century

Is utterly absurd.

[alnorth]

However, if a player like Drew Brees is killed on Sunday Night Football with millions watching it will be impossible to play the game under current (and already compromised, in my opinion) rules and the rule-making bodies will have to accelerate this shift in the game without the same level of acceptance in fans.

Not to get political, but we have gotten to the point where we now shrug off school massacres every few years as just an unavoidable part of life.

If dead kids don't lead to huge policy changes (not saying it should, either), then I think we can get over 1 dead or paralyzed multi-millionaire.

If something isn't part of the culture and people aren't deeply invested in something, then they can take or leave it, but once something is deeply ingrained in the culture whether its guns or football, then you can't fight culture. They aren't going to just shrug their shoulders and give up something important to culture lightly.

edit: a good example is dodgeball. It is basically dead or almost dead in schools because we don't have this deeply important, highly valued cultural attachment to dodgeball. Its just a stupid game, we can take or leave dodgeball, and if some kids get their feelings hurt, people won't care when its ended, they can just run around or play basketball instead.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Not to get political, but we have gotten to the point where we now shrug off school massacres every few years as just an unavoidable part of life.

If dead kids don't lead to huge policy changes (not saying it should, either), then I think we can get over 1 dead or paralyzed multi-millionaire.

If something isn't part of the culture and people aren't deeply invested in something, then they can take or leave it, but once something is deeply ingrained in the culture whether its guns or football, then you can't fight culture. They aren't going to just shrug their shoulders and give up something important to culture lightly.

The NRA and American conservatives have enough clout to maintain the status quo of gun rights in the country.

I'm not so sure the NFL and USA Football (to an extent) can convert their capital wealth into a campaign effective enough to make people shrug off the shocking death of a man playing a game.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by alnorth

No one is usually going to stop a fight if a boxer gets hurt, it doesn't stop unless you are knocked the hell out or you are so badly damaged that you can't stay on your feet.

Not true.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

The NRA and American conservatives have enough clout to maintain the status quo of gun rights in the country.

I'm not so sure the NFL and USA Football (to an extent) can convert their capital wealth into a campaign effective enough to make people shrug off the shocking death of a man playing a game.

You can't blame it on the spooky NRA or "conservatives".

The American people want guns, period. They have demonstrated that they are willing to vote on the issue. We're not a bunch of braindead morons who can be easily swayed by commercials and there isn't this secret wealthy cabal influencing the rest of us, its a deeply ingrained part of the culture, and we don't want to change. If guns weren't important to us, the NRA would have no power.

The NFL won't have to "convert their capital wealth" to save the game. The game won't need saving. If we have to, we'll just say "stuff happens", having a moment of silence the next Sunday, and move on.

[Jimmya]

They haven't outlawed ufc.... They sure as hell won't mess with football.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by alnorth

You can't blame it on the spooky NRA or "conservatives".

The American people want guns, period. They have demonstrated that they are willing to vote on the issue. We're not a bunch of braindead morons who can be easily swayed by commercials and there isn't this secret wealthy cabal influencing the rest of us, its a deeply ingrained part of the culture, and we don't want to change. If guns weren't important to us, the NRA would have no power.

The NFL won't have to "convert their capital wealth" to save the game. The game won't need saving. If we have to, we'll just say "stuff happens", having a moment of silence the next Sunday, and move on.

I get the comparison you're making, but the right to risk life and limb crashing to other dudes at high speeds isn't codified into the framework of our laws.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Not true.

theoretically the corner can stop a fight, but they never do, so you can disregard that possibility. If you are talking about a doctor stopping a fight, thats an extremely high bar, MMA fights are stopped well before then.

Protecting boxers from getting hurt simply isn't a priority.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by alnorth

theoretically the corner can stop a fight, but they never do, so you can disregard that possibility. If you are talking about a doctor stopping a fight, thats an extremely high bar, MMA fights are stopped well before then.

Protecting boxers from getting hurt simply isn't a priority.

While I agree that the MMA does a far better job at it, in recent years, boxing has become far more cautious in this area, including stopping some fights that shouldn't have been.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I get the comparison you're making, but the right to risk life and limb crashing to other dudes at high speeds isn't codified into the framework of our laws.

Its more powerful than a mere law. Laws can be changed on a whim.

It is codified into the framework of our culture. The NFL is more inseparable from American culture than most other things. We want football, we won't accept flag football (and no we're not at flag football, the game still pretty much looks the same), and we will put up with death and danger to keep our football. Period.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

While I agree that the MMA does a far better job at it, in recent years, boxing has become far more cautious in this area, including stopping some fights that shouldn't have been.

Well, you might be right. I admit its been a few years since I watched a boxing match. If they have gotten better at it, then good for them.

[Pablo]

Thursday games have largely been trash. That's sort of frustrating.

I started off watching every one this season, and lost my interest somewhere along the way. So I didn't watch the last few weeks. That's the only way average folks have a voice. Turn the garbage games off and they'll stop airing them, eventually.

Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

The Chiefs being a dog shit franchise and only putting a watchable team on the field every three to four years has contributed far more to my personal waning enjoyment of the NFL than anything else.

Fantasy football is something I get personal pleasure from, but I can see how it turns some people off. It's definitely an enormous mover in the grand scheme of things. Everyone in your office watches the NFL now, for better or worse.

[blaise]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Well, you might be right. I admit its been a few years since I watched a boxing match. If they have gotten better at it, then good for them.

I don't think the knockout punches are what makes boxing worse, anyway. It probably has more to do with the cumulative effect of taking head punches. An MMA fighter may only take 3 to 10 actual head shots a match. A boxer could take dozens. Plus I think boxers generally have longer careers. So hundreds of head punches over time.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Thursday games have largely been trash. That's sort of frustrating.

I started off watching every one this season, and lost my interest somewhere along the way. So I didn't watch the last few weeks. That's the only way average folks have a voice. Turn the garbage games off and they'll stop airing them, eventually.

The alternative is regional coverage on Sunday afternoons. It doesn't have to be MNF, it just needs to do better than regional Sunday Afternoon coverage. There's also no reason to want them to stop airing games on Thursday, what are you losing? There may be 2 or 3 Thursday games in a year that you'd be interested in watching, but would not watch on Sunday Afternoon if it conflicts with your team's game time.

[Valiant]

The thing I hate is the moving of games or times later in the season.. Right now it is minimal. But I see them doing it more as the years go on to change prime matchups to maximize ratings.

The problem is all the people that paid to see the games. That effects their travel plans, especially away team fans.. Tickets and travel is not cheap, that is a small fortune.. Hopefully enough for small claims losses by the nfl.


Also, get rid of the ****ing blackout rule... If they can make this much on tv. They need to lower prices on seats..