Report: NFL thinking about eliminating preseason games

The NFL preseason isn’t for everyone. The casual fan really isn’t interested in watching training camp bodies play in a meaningless game.

Though, it’s still a cash cow. Interest is there. Stadiums sell out. The cost of television rights remain relatively high.

In reality, it makes very little financial sense for the NFL to do away with the preseason altogether.

This hasn’t stopped rumors from circulating that suggest the 2016 NFL preseason might be the end of it all.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...-games/ar-AAiadz7?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

This falls into the category of an article for the sake of writing an article. Near the end, he writes:

"Though, it does seem highly unlikely that the NFL would do away with the preseason altogether."

Everyone has a quota. That's the case here.

Not gonna happen. Those two preseason games in each stadium are pure profit for the owners. Unlike MLB Spring Training, the NFL teams charge full price for tickets and don't pay the players full game checks (they get a per diem of a few hundred bucks per week).

They also generate enough TV ratings to justify CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN to carry two each in Week 3, and the local broadcasts, produced by the teams themselves, allow them to get their own messages out, rather than going through the network & league filters.

In other words, NFL preseason ain't goin' nowhere.

Exactly, Not only do preseason games generate revenue for the teams and
good tv ratings, they also set the stage and generate fan interest ahead of
the regular season. Sort of the reverse of " Out of site, out of mind."

Nowhere in this article does it actually have a quote from anyone saying the NFL is thinking about eliminating pre-season. No quotes means completely manufactured idea.

Players get injured all the time, even when they're not playing, and Tony Romo would get injured pealing an apple.

Other than that, the only negatives I see in this article come from the writer, who feels the season is too long, and isn't worth the price of admission.

Prescott Joe said:

Sort of the reverse of " Out of site, out of mind."

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See: Arena Football League

Season Ticket holders must buy the preseason games. There is much not to like, but as noted by other posters, there is too much advantage to the league to keep them, so they aren't going anywhere.

umfan said:

Season Ticket holders must buy the preseason games. There is much not to like, but as noted by other posters, there is too much advantage to the league to keep them, so they aren't going anywhere.

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And season ticket holders aren't happy about it.

I would agree that the players need the experience before they have to play a real game. Though these games cause no end of problems with TV schedules.

vchimpanzee said:

And season ticket holders aren't happy about it

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I'd suggest that depends on the team. Fans in Green Bay love pre-season, because it's still above freezing.

KeithE4 said:

Not gonna happen. Those two preseason games in each stadium are pure profit for the owners. Unlike MLB Spring Training, the NFL teams charge full price for tickets and don't pay the players full game checks (they get a per diem of a few hundred bucks per week).

They also generate enough TV ratings to justify CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN to carry two each in Week 3, and the local broadcasts, produced by the teams themselves, allow them to get their own messages out, rather than going through the network & league filters.

In other words, NFL preseason ain't goin' nowhere.

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Unless the player's union makes a big stink about it when the next CBA comes up for negotiation.
I imagine they won't continue to play these games and risk injury for a crappy per-diem.

FreddyE1977 said:

I imagine they won't continue to play these games and risk injury for a crappy per-diem.

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The fact is they risk the same injuries at practice. Most of the big stars play a quarter at the most. It's the least they can do for the money they make.

Shaun Suisham, the former Steelers placekicker, went down during an exhibition game on bad turf
in Canton, Ohio last year. The injury has basically ended his career. Players are talking about that.

FreddyE1977 said:

Shaun Suisham, the former Steelers placekicker, went down during an exhibition game on bad turf
in Canton, Ohio last year. The injury has basically ended his career. Players are talking about that.

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That was the annual Hall of Fame game. Different from what we're talking about here. This year's Hall of Fame Game was canceled for the same reason.

TheBigA said:

That was the annual Hall of Fame game. Different from what we're talking about here. This year's Hall of Fame Game was canceled for the same reason.

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Preseason won't be going away, but I won't be surprised if the HOF game does. Baseball got rid of its game years ago, and there's no reason for the NFL to have one anymore. It requires the two teams that are playing in it to have an extra week of camp, and they play 5 preseason games instead of 4, a 25% greater risk of injuries.

KeithE4 said:

Preseason won't be going away, but I won't be surprised if the HOF fame does.

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I agree with that. As I watched the chaos surrounding this year's game, it all seemed so small time, so petty, so unnecessary. The field and the stadium were both admittedly sub-par, and actual active players should not have been expected to play on it. If they want to hold a game at the Hall of Fame, they can do an old-timers game, with recently retired players. But what they were attempting to do that day was below the standards of the NFL.

TheBigA said:

I'd suggest that depends on the team. Fans in Green Bay love pre-season, because it's still above freezing.

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They just love their football, period. So they'll watch no matter what.

Some people just don't care about pre-season football. One of my bosses is 29 and is a Patriots Fan. Another one of my bosses is 22 and is a Giants fan. This is a conversation we had in the break room on Sunday.

Me: "E" (that's my nickname for one of my bosses because his name begins with E), are you working closing shift Thursday night?
E: Yeah, why are you?
Me: No, man. I'm getting out at 6:15. Too bad Michelle's not closing. It's Giants-Patriots this Thursday Night on the NFL Network. G-Dawg (my nickname for the other boss) might be having a bunch of people from the store over to watch the game.
E: Who cares? It's just pre-season.
Me: Because it's Giants-Patriots man. Me and G-Dawg's Giants beat your Patriots in the Superbowl twice.
E: Big deal. It's pre-season.
Me: Then you're not a real football fan man.