Friday Night Lights

Eight (Times Two) Is Enough


Earlier this week, after the NFL owners' meetings in my adopted hometown of greater Los Angeles, where there is not a franchise, and where there never will be a franchise, commissioner (and Most Powerful Man in Sports, Like Can Have You Killed Within A Couple Minutes Powerful) Roger Goodell likely interrupted recession-oblivious (or maybe just oblivious) conversations about private jets, Cuban cigars, premium unleaded gasoline and preferred Vitamin Water flavors among 32 of the richest men on the planet by suggesting that the NFL expand its schedule to 18 games from the current 16 contests.

I'm not totally sure why Goodell would propose such a change. Ostensibly, Rog' wants to replace two of the four preseason showdowns with games that count. I've racked my brain for the last four and a half minutes and come up with an extensive list of pros and cons (mostly cons) that MPMSLCHYKWACMP must be considering as he dreams of Week 18 and 19 action (don't forget the bye week, kids).

Pros

1) (Maybe) increased television revenue. With two more games per season, Goodell could potentially milk a bit more cash out of CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN, especially now that the threat of placing games on the NFL Network can be used as a scare tactic to get the four major players to ante up. However, the NFL Network can't show 16 games per week. More importantly, the non-NFL-networks face incredible financial pressure as key advertisers hemorrhage cash and cut back on TV spending. Perhaps Goodell can flex his muscles here, but...

Giant, Massive Cons (and no, I'm not talking about NFL players)

1) Player health and safety. How ironic that Goodell's article came out the same day as an academic study that suggested NFL players lose two to three years off of their lives for each year they play football. Given the size of today's players and the speed and fury with which they play the game, I can only imagine how a two-game increase in the amount of bone-jarring hits and reckless collisions could affect that number.

2) Fading starpower, due to player health and safety. Welcome to the NFL of the 21st century, where Shaun Alexander was released two seasons after winning the 2005 NFL MVP award, and LaDainian Tomlinson is quickly following on the same path to irrelevance. The staying power of these stars is falling quickly due to the demands of a 16 game gridiron season. Two more games annually accelerates the decline of the NFL's most electrifying and marketable personalities.

3) Fan fatigue, which is already setting in for some (read: me), thanks to little bits of insanity like ESPN running new episodes of NFL Live every week in February and March.

Point being, though, the league enjoys such rabid fan interest because of the make-or-break nature of every single game. Add two additional contests, and the level of importance drops across the board, until you have an absurd situation like that which exists in baseball, where a talented team like the Yankees will seemingly drop ten straight just to make things interesting.

Likewise, when you add an additional home date for every team, it's that much easier to skip less enticing matchups in person and in front of the TV. Casual fans can only go crazy for so long.

4) Lack of incremental revenue improvements, which is business-ese for "Where's the extra money from your plan, Roger?" Now that NFL teams have wickedly (or wisely, depending on your perspective) forced season ticket holders to buy seats for their team's two preseason games across the board, I can't imagine two replacement regular season competitions drawing so much more revenue that you can risk cons 1, 2, and 3, even with some sort of broadcasting deal home run that may never happen.

So go ahead, Mr. Goodell. Extend football's regular season. But do so at the peril of your players, your teams, your fans, and ultimately, your league. It's your call.