Handful of NFL Players Still Kneeling, NFL Considering Solution for Next Year
As NFL players continue to take a knee, things get worse for the NFL. The season-long decline in viewers is increasing. So is the season-long decline in people actually attending the games. The bottom line? $500 million in potential lost revenue for CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC. No one’s counted the lost revenue from the stadiums and merchandise.
Significantly fewer people watch the NFL this season. Other businesses would be panicking if they lost market share so fast. There were one million fewer viewers during week 11 this year than last year’s week 11. That’s a drop from 15.9 million to 14.9 million. Last week’s 6.3 percent slump from the previous year is steeper than in the last three weeks, when it declined 5.6 to 5.7 percent.
From 2015 to Now
In 2015, the NFL saw the highest ratings ever. Now, it’s down 20 percent from that season. The sport also has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport, according to the Winston Group.
The kneeling drove away many of its core supporters, men age 34-54. This group should form the league’s reliable fanbase for the next couple decades, but not if a large percentage stop watching. That demographic fell 31 percent in their favorable opinion, from 73 percent to 42 percent. Photos went viral of half-empty stadiums.
#TBvsATL (2/2) RT @igbblum: Tons of empty seats at Falcons/Bucs game. pic.twitter.com/7JDe4rNcCx
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) November 26, 2017
NFL football has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport
#TBvsATL (2/2) RT @igbblum: Tons of empty seats at Falcons/Bucs game. pic.twitter.com/7JDe4rNcCx
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) November 26, 2017
A handful of players still kneel, down from a high of over 200 in Week 3. Oakland Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch refused to stand for the anthem during a game in Mexico City earlier this month, although he stood for the Mexican anthem. President Trump tweeted his disapproval.
Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect! Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2017
Lynch has not explained why he kneels. However, before the Week 4 game, he wore a shirt that said “Everybody vs. Trump.” Trump has threatened to end the tax-exempt bonds that fund many of the league’s stadiums due to the kneeing, though he has no ability to do so.
He tweeted that fans should boycott games where players are kneeling. Vice President Mike Pence left a game before it began recently due to players kneeling.
Possible Solutions
Some team owners are fixing the problem on their own. Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford asked her team to stop kneeling. She told the players she would donate her name and money to causes they care about if they found a different way to protest.
Some team owners are fixing the problem on their own.
However, that request doesn’t always work. Giants owner John Mara asked his team to stand, but defensive end Olivier Vernon knelt during the national anthem before a game against the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving. Vernon told Newsday he kneels because of “social injustice on African-Americans and police brutality.” He was the only player in the NFL to kneel that day. Trump criticized him in a tweet.
Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players. The Commissioner has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss! https://t.co/udXP5MR8BC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017
Controversial Cowboys owner Jerry Jones put some teeth into it, telling his players they better stand or they’ll be benched, so the players have obliged. Jones is trying to get the NFL to adopt that policy for the entire league.
The NFL is now considering requiring players to remain in the locker room during games next season. Trump tweeted that this was an unacceptable solution. He wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to do something about it.
The NFL is now thinking about a new idea – keeping teams in the Locker Room during the National Anthem next season. That’s almost as bad as kneeling! When will the highly paid Commissioner finally get tough and smart? This issue is killing your league!…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
While Trump may not like the solution of keeping the players in the locker room, it would end the controversy. Out Kick the Coverage reported, “There is agreement that the NFL needs to find a resolution to the protests.”
Patriotism and Revenue
An inside source told The Washington Post the league is likely the players in the locker room if some continue kneeling. The owners appear to support the move. The NFL may not care about patriotism, but it does care about revenue and the TV networks do as well. No team has signed Colin Kaepernick, who last season started the practice of kneeling.
Even then, it remains to be seen if the NFL will be restored to its previous lofty status in American sports. Former fans are acquiring new hobbies to replace the games. The NFL could have enforced its rules against the players kneeling early on and stopped the hemorrhaging, but chose not to. It may never be the giant it was.
Follow Rachel on Twitter at Rach_IC.
