It May Only Be A Matter Of Time Before NFL Owners Consider Moving All Conference Games To Neutral Sites Like The Greedy Bastards They Are
Now in fairness before you read this, Albert Breer seems like he has the fans best interest at heart, he also seems to be supportive of Barstool.
He lays out a statement before he writes out his pitch on how the NFL would actually get these neutral site games played.
SI.com - "I have two points to make on neutral-site conference title games potentially becoming a permanent part of our pro football reality.One, I think the idea of doing it, and taking the games out of the home cities, is a complete abomination. And, two, I think it’s inevitable that the owners will start talking seriously about it, and probably sooner than later."
That at least tells Mr.Breer knows the deal, is this shitty for the fans ? Yes, but be aware it may happen anyway. So without further ado, here's some bullet points on Breer's reasons why the NFL may actually do this.
SI.com -In covering the NFL, to always follow the money, and the revenue trail is what led me to my destination on this one. After talking to a few people about it this weekend, it’s pretty easy to see where the league could capitalize financially on rotating the games through different cities and creating a setup not unlike the College Football Playoff’s arrangement, where bowl games serve as the sites of the two semifinals.How would they make money on them? In a few different ways:•
First, it’d make it easier to slap naming rights on the game—something, presumably, you’d never do with the Super Bowl. It would mirror what’s done in college football with bowl games. It’d also be easier to get top dollar for such naming rights if you’re selling the site of the game as part of it, too.•
Second, you’d have cities bidding for the neutral-site games, and it’d allow for places such as Detroit, Minneapolis or Indianapolis, cities that might get a Super Bowl once but possibly never again, a chance to continue to capitalize on having a Super Bowl–quality stadium. It could also help prepare cities to host a Super Bowl, or help the league evaluate cities that might bid on one.•
Third, the NFL could control and sell the suites and tickets. As it is now, teams generally sell those to their season ticket holders and suite holders. “The inventory you could have for sponsors and networks and visitors is taken to a large degree by the sponsors and the ticket holders of the home team,” says one source connected to the league office. At a neutral site, everyone would be free of such obligations, so the NFL could sell all of that in advance, or use them with sponsors and corporate partners more efficiently.
Can you imagine being a Season Ticker Holder for a team and you lose out on getting to see a Conference Championship Game in person ? Can you imagine being a diehard fan of a team who struggles and you have one magical run and you don't get to go to the game in person you have been waiting forever for ? How about people in general who shell out ticket costs, PSL's and spend their money on the team ? Take for example Jets and Giants fans. Do you know that since the inception of MetLife Stadium there has been 1 playoff game ? 1 ! Yet these diehard season ticket holders keep forking over money in hopes of one day getting to see a Conference Championship game in person and the NFL is ready to rip that away (potentially).
I'm not a big cliche guy, but when you look up corporate greed, this may very well be the definition. Also it ruins everything we know about the identity of football fans, and games, and what makes it special. A warm team having to go to a cold venue. A young QB on the road, fans packed out screaming and going nuts, the tailgate, the city the week of the game being obsessed with the game counting down the hours until they get to go, and families making memories watching these games. Imagine the 11 year old kid who goes to every game with his dad and grandpa since he was 6 , most years when the team sucks, has the opportunity to see his team, his family's team, make the Super Bowl in person and bond with the guys who taught him the game and now he can't ? That's just awful. Fans would go batshit if that happened, and rightfully so.
The real bad news is this may be a reality … real soon.
SI.com- I can also say that owners have, indeed, talked about this over the years, so it’s not a new idea. It’s just one that hasn’t yet gotten to the point where it’s ready to be voted on.
But the pieces are in place to make this happen. The NFL already controls the conference title games (teams run the wild-card and divisional rounds). So where Park Avenue has generally allowed for the teams to be true to their suite holders and season ticket holders, it could pretty easily pull back on that if the owners see fit. Additionally, going through the Bills-Chiefs scenario the past few weeks gave them a sort of dry run to find potential issues.
Peter Burns sums it up on the nose right here …
The NFL has their fans by the balls, and anytime they want to remind them how hard they can squeeze … they will. What a shame. I feel bad for the season ticket holders.