July Mailbag, Part II: Football's future, Sam Darnold, Rex Ryan memories, criminal on-field acts, QB scheming, gambling
Subscribers bring another round of A+ questions. Answers, thoughts inside.
Part I of our latest mailbag is here.
Part II is below for subscribers. It’s a doozy. Thank you all for your exceptional questions — and story ideas! Never hesitate to send pitches our way at golongtd@substack.com.
Topics include…
CTE and the future of football. What will things look like in 2076 and what can the NFL do about it now?
The hunt of the next Sam Darnold. It’s complicated.
Playing through pain — some do, some don’t.
Bills Drought Memories. My goodness was 2015 Netflix-worthy.
How much does “luck” factor into a player’s NFL success?
Should players be criminally charged for particularly egregious on-field attacks?
Thanksgiving Day.
Sports gambling is worse than you think.
Tyler,
Short, simple question this week:
What do you think is the biggest risk to the NFL’s seemingly unstoppable growth:
International expansion? Playing games at all hours, travel, talent dilution.
Fragmented game coverage? US government making noises about the sheer number of streaming services required.
Gameday cost? Going to a game is becoming a once in a lifetime experience for most fans due to parking, concessions, ticket costs.
Loyalty? Team relocations are certainly not new, but the Bears even potentially leaving Illinois risks a watershed moment.
Talent? CTE is scaring a lot of parents away from encouraging their kids from playing which is a pipeline problem. NIL keeps mid-tier kids in college.
Are the owners concerned about these things? How are they strategically managing these risks?
Many of the risks come down to greed, and we know “the world is not enough” for the NFL. It simply seems like the NFL behaves like their power is limitless. I think of NASCAR 20 years ago and look how far it has fallen. It could happen to the NFL. Many things in life seem impossible and then become inevitable.
Paul Barth
Cross Plains, WI
Paul always delivers. All five factors threaten the NFL to some degree and I think these worlds will collide in ways big and small. Not overnight. Not even in five to 10 years. But eventually the freight train will run out of fuel. Something cannot grow at such absurd rates and at such breakneck speeds without a long-term consequence.