An Open Letter to the NFL

An Open Letter to the NFL

Dear NFL,

You’re doing it wrong.

No, I don’t mean making money. You seem to be doing that hand over fist, at least at the moment. What I mean is that at the very time that fans want to enjoy your product, you are seemingly finding ways to disengage fans on almost every front. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and rather than just complain about this, I figured I’d just put out there the areas where there are clear failures and at the very least point out some clear direction toward solutions. Of course, I’m not pretending to know the answers to all of these issues as many of them once one wades into the weeds can be complicated and nuanced, but at the same time, complicated and nuanced doesn’t obviate the obvious.

Domestic Violence

Failure: Even with supposed “reforms” in place, I have little reason to have confidence that any real change is happening. And you should be concerned. The growth of the NFL is nearly all from women. Since 2009, the viewership of males has remained flat, while female viewership has increased substantially, fueling virtually all of the growth in the game. You know those huge TV contracts that got renegotiated based on the “growth” of the league? Well, those numbers were based on women continuing to grow as a demographic. Further, with the Commissioner’s current track record on appeals now at 0-5, why should a player fear the repercussions from the Commissioner? Why shouldn’t every player do what Greg Hardy did; lawyer up and appeal no matter how egregious? No, this current state of affairs is unacceptable and even with the reforms in place doesn’t change the state of the game.

Solution: The NFL and the NFLPA have to get together on this one. Plain and simple, there has to be a more thorough evaluation of due process for players, expedited during the season, and the CBA has to be amended to reflect this. Oh, and just so the NFLPA is clear, while it is the duty for the NFLPA to represent players, to represent players like Greg Hardy enthusiastically and without context is reprehensible. This is a player who NEVER expressed ANY remorse for his actions and clearly was found guilty on the facts by a judge and used the North Carolina judicial system to then ask for a jury trial and paid off the person he assaulted so that she would not be present for the trial and get the charges dismissed.

The NFLPA has to work with the NFL to deal with criminal players because the NFL has a responsibility to the fans and the NFLPA can’t expect the NFL to suit up criminals. Moreover, it makes it harder for the NFL to work with the NFLPA on separating the players who need help from the criminals who need punishment. I absolutely agree that players deserve due process and a fair hearing. There is nothing in that belief that wouldn’t allow the NFLPA to hold members to a standard. Unions hold members to account in other industries all the time and discipline members accordingly. If that isn’t appropriate due to competitive advantage, then at the very least, the NFLPA has to acknowledge the necessity of working with the NFL to enact REAL reform such that players are fully represented, innocence can be established or players who need help are directed to that help and criminals shown the door.

Game Day Experience

Failure: The NFL has become a year long “fanfest” with events almost every month of the year. Fans are engaged more than ever and going to a game can be the highlight of a fan’s year. That said, in far too many venues, it’s a flat out disgusting experience. While I’ve been blessed to be a visitor at two Tampa Bay Buccaneer games and experienced a wonderful experience, I would NEVER go or take my family to a game at a number of venues around the NFL. Ever…and this is from someone who as a kid went to Raider games at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Even back then, I’d see a guy with his young kids in Bronco gear and while they might have razzed him, you wouldn’t see anyone pour beer all over the entire family like happens now. You wouldn’t have to dodge puddles of vomit and trash and broken bottles and fights in the parking lot if you didn’t get to the venue early.

Understand, this is not just my observation. These are observations made by major media outlets all across the nation as well. When they said that the experience at Levi Stadium was boring, perhaps that was a compliment compared to some places. When/if I have the money to go to a game, I want it to be the event advertised. When it’s Animal House meets Jerry Springer in NFL jerseys, I’m just gonna stay home, not make a road trip, not stay in any hotels, not eat out, and not spend any money in that city.

Solution: While the NFL seem perfectly content to lobby for billion dollar stadiums, they seem to leave the administration of that stadium up to the owners. Which is odd. Plenty of homeowners live in houses with an HOA and have standards to uphold. Strict standards, might I add (if anyone’s ever dealt with an HOA or a co-op board, you’ll understand). The solution seems to lie in a set of non-negotiable standards that every venue must meet without fail. That doesn’t mean that every venue will be the same. However, it may mean more security at certain venues or changing the tailgating rules or times or enforcing public drunkenness laws. If those exist, why aren’t they enforced? When I buy a product from a name brand company, I expect a certain level of quality.

However, at this time, the NFL delivers wildly different quality levels depending on venue, opponent and a host of other factors. The NFL must work with owners on standardizing the NFL experience such that a fan understands what an NFL game MEANS as opposed to an NCAA or High School game. Even a franchise playing the last game of a losing season should be offering a quality NFL experience and all 32 owners have a vested interest in seeing that happen.

Refereeing

Failure: Each game in the NFL is getting to be more like baseball in one respect: savvy fans are getting to know the Referees and their crews because like in baseball, each has a different strike zone. That, in a word, is bad. The refereeing in the NFL should be uniform from play to play and game to game as much as it can humanly be. I actually like some of the changes with respect to allowing calls to be reviewed in the New York NFL head office.

That said, every week there is ample video evidence in a game where inches matter of calls that in one game go one way and another game aren’t called or go another. In a league where a difference of one game can differentiate the first pick in the draft to sixth or between being in the playoffs or sitting at 9-7 watching from home, it’s more important than ever for every call to be made with purpose and to be right. We simply cannot abide any more officiating inconsistency. On a very serious note, this goes straight to the integrity of the game. How does a win mean anything if the difference even in part is “who’s refereeing?”. As fans, we want to focus on the game, not who’s refereeing and “what’s their strike zone.”

Solution: Full Time Refs. The league is quickly coming up on a net worth of $15 Billion dollars and that number will only climb as new stadiums come online each costing north of a billion dollars. There is simply no economic argument for having accountants and school teachers be part time referees in the biggest sport on the country. Moreover, due to the changes that occur each year and the physical demands the sport is placing on referees as players get bigger, stronger and faster, it’s more important than ever for each official to be fit enough to be in position to make the proper call. With full time refs, training programs can be implemented to further facilitate uniformity in how refs see plays so that they’re called the same way.

Game Viewing Experience

Failure: Other than the Domestic Violence failure, this is the biggest failure of all. In 2015, to be in this sorry state is just sad. As of right now, unless a person is a fan of one of the top 6 or so teams, they either have to get DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket OR in some areas as of this year, folks can get an online only Sunday Ticket. Is this 1995? Why are you guys at NFL HQ still trying to sell us albums? Have you learned nothing from the music industry or the television industry? As fans, we can either watch what executives want us to watch on live TV or we can pony up a really big sum for DirecTV. Well, sorry. I’m not ever going to buy DirecTV. It’s not a good fit for the area where I live.

More importantly, like many fans, I don’t want the album. I’m on a budget and I want my favorite song. Turns out, in my case, it’s not the song on the radio all the time, so I don’t want to just turn on Fox or CBS and catch almost every Seahawk or Bronco game for free. I want to watch MY team. Every week. And that’s it. How is it in 2015 that the NFL isn’t offering Team Only packages? The recent hacking of the NFL GamePass app showed that there is TREMENDOUS demand for NFL digital content. Well, HELLO! There is. Tremendous demand. And just like in music, there are plenty of people who would be glad to pay IF THEY COULD PAY FOR JUST WHAT THEY WANT AND NOTHING ELSE (yes, I meant to shout that). Also, why aren’t there any PPV game day options? What if I only want to watch one game online or on my TV?

Did you guys in the NFL Park Avenue offices see the Apple Announcement today? Did you see how cool the MLB app is? And that’s coming to Hockey for the upcoming season. WITH MLB.TV Premium only costing $24.99, it’s not only affordable, but gives fans the entire league at their fingertips. What does the NFL have to compare with that? GamePass? No, that’s just not acceptable.

Solution: As Tim Cook, CEO of Apple noted, more and more people consume their content via apps, not via standard TV. So, while this may concern Fox and CBS, it should be noted as an opportunity for you. It’s their job to get eyeballs by creating content that brings people to the TV. It’s the NFL’s job to make football and deliver that product to as many people as possible. Now, it may work in the Satellite TV space to charge Sunday Ticket prices for all those games, but in the digital space? It’s beyond ridiculous. Even $100 borders on absurd.

For $100, the NFL would need to be delivering well beyond what MLB is already delivering from a digital perspective including multiple game feeds and live stats, the whole shebang. It’s not, not even close. We’re lucky IF we can get the games because there’s STILL blackout restrictions. STILL!!!! It’s 2015. The NFL needs to be offering a) Team oriented season packages, b) single game offerings, c) playoff only offerings, d) team + playoff offerings and e) entire league offering and that one can also offer the library and bonuses, etc.

So, rather than chase the piracy rabbit down the rabbit hole, why not innovate while opening opportunities and giving more content to paying fans who want it and are willing to pay a fair price for it?

Conclusion

As of right now, the NFL has a product that fans want. I want it or I wouldn’t have written this letter. However, as the players note about their careers, that acronym also stands for ‘Not For Long’. By expecting fans to ignore their conscience, to offer wildly inconsistent and often substandard game day experiences, to offer inconsistently officiated contests that fans are more upset about than ever and to adhere to old paradigms at the expense of zealously getting content to fans is tantamount to taking fans for granted.

I don’t think that’s anyone’s intent. Honestly, I don’t. But, that’s what’s happening. So, let’s get real. Fix it. Get with the NFLPA and get real about DV. You can’t do it alone and we don’t want to see any more Greg Hardys abuse the system. We don’t want to see anyone standing at a podium talking about it, either. Fix the stadium issues. What good is it to have a Billion Dollar stadium if going to it makes a person want to double check their insurance? Get full time refs, even if it takes time to transition. You can’t fight this fight with Tom Brady over the integrity of the game and still have part time refs calling every game. And, for Heaven’s Sake, get into 2015 and get onto those digital offerings, already. I only named a few ideas, but team only, single game and playoff only digital packages should have been done AGES ago. You have a product in demand. If your current partners don’t want to help, find new ones.

Be well and have a Great Season,
William Keyser
Father, Husband, Service-Connected Disabled Vet and avid football fan