At this rate, the NFL will be completely dissolved within the next few years.
The entire league is shooting themselves in the foot because none of them have any desire to stop the anthem protests.
And now new evidence has emerged that shows it’s actually way worse than anyone thought.
Not only are ratings still declining at a rapid rate, but teams can’t fill their stadiums either.
And that’s with some tickets falling to at an astonishingly low price of $15 a seat.
TV ratings have steadily gotten worse each week, but this week’s Monday Night Football ratings were the worst of them all.
Breitbart reports:
“Just when some industry observers were beginning to think that it couldn’t get any worse for the NFL’s primetime ratings this year, it gets much, much worse.
The NFL served up the Texans and the Ravens on the week 12 edition of Monday Night Football, and NFL viewers seem to have resoundingly said, “No thank you.”
The MNF clash between Houston and Baltimore drew only a 6.0 in metered markets. That makes it the lowest rated MNF contest of the year for the NFL and ESPN.
The Week 12 debacle represents a 17 percent decline from last week’s edition of MNF, which saw a the Seahawks edge the Falcons 34-31.”
But it’s not just in TV ratings and desperate attempts to fill stadiums where we see the NFL crumbling.
NFL merchandise has seen an enormous decline as well.
The drop in sales for jerseys and other NFL paraphernalia has taken a huge hit this year compared to previous ones.
Breitbart reports:
“According to the Sports Business Journal, NFL merchandise sales have fallen by 20 percent or more, since the 2009 recession. While the time span of eight years allows a myriad of different explanations for the drop in sales.
Awful Announcing writes that, “some licensees feel it has to do with the national anthem protests.”
According to one licensee, and veteran, the drop in sales is an alarming reality with many possible explanations.
Bill Skinner of Team ProMark said, “My NFL business has been struggling. As a veteran, I’m bothered by the national anthem protests, so I’ve watched much less NFL.”
Though, he said, “I’d be crazy to blame it on one thing: Brick-and-mortar retail is a mess, and the third parties that used to sell our products online have been largely eliminated by the league. It makes you nervous; for most of the guys here, the NFL is their most important license.”
While the anthem protests may not suffice as a complete and total explanation for the drop in sales, it is interesting how the protest issue is normally the first thing fans, and in this case, retailers, bring up when it comes to trying to explain the loss of interest in the NFL.
Awful Announcing writes, “One licensee did cite the oversaturation of games and lower TV ratings as a contributing factor. But perhaps it’s a combination of factors, and not just anthem protests and lower ratings.
The NFL has taken hits from news about concussions, injuries to marquee players like Aaron Rodgers, the retirement of long-time merchandising stalwarts like Peyton Manning and Troy Polamalu, and non-traditional windows on Sunday mornings and Thursday nights.
“Holiday sales will be a litmus test for the NFL, but some licensees are worried that the league isn’t doing more to help their partners during what is the most important time for retail.”
What’s really infuriating is that the NFL can’t see how this is all such a simple fix.
Demand your players stand for the anthem and fans will come back. Ratings will go up, stadiums will be full, and merchandise will sell.
How can they not see this?