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Is the NFL sustainable as a business model?

maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
74,894
45,259
Given Mark Cuban's remarks regarding the NFL, does he have a point?

As a family of four, there's no way I can afford to bring my family to Patriot's games. The cost increases over the past decade have largely priced me out of the market. (by the way this is not limited to the NFL, the red sox tickets are one of the most expensive tickets in MLB). This not only includes the tickets, but the food, drinks, parking and stuff you are on the hook to buy when you're a parent.

Cheapest tickets in the nose bleed section, 75 dollars - so 4 tickets are 300.
Parking - about 50 bucks
Food expenses, estimate about 100 bucks
Souvenirs - I'll say about 80 bucks (40 dollars per kid).

That's over 500 dollars for a 3 hour game.

Look at the struggle the NFL had last season in trying to avoid blackouts for their playoff games. People were not snapping up the tickets like they used too. Now the NFL is proposing rule changes to make it even harder. They're mandating (or recommending) that teams can only sell playoff tickets once they secured a playoff berth.

While the NFL is enjoying huge financial successes, are they setting themselves up for in the future. Going to London is a huge expense yet does this really grow the sport?

Playing more games during the week, waters down the experience. Expanding to 18 games (something the union is against) makes the season longer, and allowing more teams into the playoffs will reduce the quality of the game.

Thoughts, opinions?
 
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It's sad to read this, I don;t follow or understand soccer here in the UK , but am an avid NFL fan...It seems from friends who go to soccer games that the same thing is happening...taking a family of 4 would cost around £200 if you sit someplace where you can A) see the game, and B) not be surrounded by swearing and abuse from partisan supporters.

In answer to you're question, well, folks here seem to continue to pay, but more and more are attending via corporate boxes which are often empty unless it's a really important game.

Englands national sport has become a game for the rich and the elite.
 
I do think Mark Cuban has a very valid point.

To me, USA is football crazy (not a judgement btw, a statement).

Fridays is high school ball, Saturday, College and Sunday 'was' the main NFL day.

Having it spread from Thursday to Sunday takes some of the hype away, imho.

It's not just the game that matters. It's the pre-game tailgating and hype all week. The fans plan their weekends around football. It's a community, event based experience.

By having games throughout the week, I seriously believe it takes some of the umph out of the league.

Add in a huge dash of concussion concern throughout all levels and I wonder how many high school (or younger) kids are playing football??

Cheers,
Keebler
 
I don't know enough about business to really make a truly educated guess, but if I had to I would say that there business model is fine for right now.

I will say that Thursday night games, suck. Leave games on Sunday and Monday and be done with it. Also, stop changing the rules. Some of the ones put in place are of benefit but they are taking the game, out of the game.

I will say that going to a game, while fun, is not all it is cracked up to be. Maybe it is just me, but I can have as much fun with a group of friends at my house, TV set up outside and cooking on the grill.

The cost to go to a game for a family is prohibitively expensive. The cost of food and drink is what irks me the most. If i can get a 20oz soda from a gas station for a buck and a half then why does there version cost me four to five dollars.

And don't get me started on how much athletes (in pretty much any sport) are paid.
 
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prostuff1 said:
I don't know enough about business to really make a truly educated guess, but if I had to I would say that there business model is fine for right now.

I will say that Thursday night games, suck. Leave games on Sunday and Monday and be done with it. Also, stop changing the rules. Some of the ones put in place are of benefit but they are taking the game, out of the game.

I will say that going to a game, while fun, is not all it is cracked up to be. Maybe it is just me, but I can have as much fun with a group of friends at my house, TV set up outside and cooking on the grill.

The cost to go to a game for a family is prohibitively expensive. The cost of food and drink is what irks me the most. If i can get a 20oz soda from a gas station for a buck and a half then why does there version cost me four to five dollars.

And don't get me started on how much athletes (in pretty much any sport) are paid.
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While I have not been to a pro game, I have been to a couple of College games and well, I would much rather do the same as you.

I do want to go to the team I root for home field, but the prices are freaking high for the nose bleed seats.

I did not hear anything about teams unable to sell out playoff games. If that is the case, yikes!!!!! Usually those games sell out quick for other sports!
 
rhett7660 said:
I do want to go to the team I root for home field, but the prices are freaking high for the nose bleed seats.
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That's the rub, even with many NFL Franchises pushing to build new stadiums to compete, its harder for us normal middle class folks to justify the price. I know the teams get a boat load of money from TV contracts but I think if they continue to price themselves out of the market for regular fans, will it be come less appealing for TV networks, especially when (if) they start dealing with black outs?
 
CNN has an interesting take on Cuban's words
Link

While the author doesn't believe it will implode, he backs up Cuban's incendiary comments with actual numbers including flat and declining attendance at stadiums. The fact there's over a 100 commercials on a given game. Lack of interest in younger audiences, i.e., not cultivating the next generation to be fans.
 
prostuff1 said:
I will say that Thursday night games, suck. Leave games on Sunday and Monday and be done with it. Also, stop changing the rules. Some of the ones put in place are of benefit but they are taking the game, out of the game.
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Indeed. Instead of having guys tackling, they have them diving for the knees now. Invest in better helmet technology, bud. As for the constant rule change protecting the QB; put him in a pink jersey so the other players know not to hit him.:rolleyes: And my biggest pet peeve ever since Tagliabue and now his apprentice Goodell, the elimination of excessive celebrations. Bring back the funky chicken, the ickey shuffle, TO's pom-pom dance, Ochocinco's riverdance; bring back the fun.

prostuff1 said:
I will say that going to a game, while fun, is not all it is cracked up to be. Maybe it is just me, but I can have as much fun with a group of friends at my house, TV set up outside and cooking on the grill.
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Tailgating during a game. Thumbs up, bro. Some stadiums charge you for the parking spaces to tailgate, so that's even more $$$, even before kick off. Still I think the NFL makes the bulk of it's money off TV deals, around 20 billion a year.

As long as they keep getting the TV deal, the NFL ain't gonna die any time soon. It wouldn't kill them to lower ticket prices, especially for teams that are in rebuilding mode.

prostuff1 said:
And don't get me started on how much athletes (in pretty much any sport) are paid.
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Big stars get the big bucks. Starting QB's probably makes more than the entire special team combined.:eek:
 
never been to an NFL game, but the idea of paying hundreds of $$$ to freeze my a$$ off in november or december is not at the top of my list

i saw the yankees in June last year and baked under the sun. this year i'm only going to consider going to April, May or September games. the experience is not that much better seeing it live.

as far as adding days, there is lots of competition from baseball, hockey and the NBA. a lot of sports fans now mostly watch the post seasons or the playoff run games and ignore the first games of a season since they don't matter that much. even then it would be interesting to have a team play every other team at least once in a season
NFL should look into moving the season out of winter if they want more games
 
Cheapest seats for the Broncos are $48. The seats my family has are $61, an increase from the last 2 years at $57 per seat. Parking costs $30 a game. We usually eat at the beginning of the game or pick up Subway and eat on the way to the game. We hardly ever buy any souvenirs at the stadium.

We usually sell our tickets to a couple of games each year and make a nice profit. We did well enough this past year, that we didn't have to pay anything for the 2 playoff games.

The games are expensive, no doubt about it. But, Cuban is just a blowhard and I don't see it as bad as he does.
 
he does have a point on the safety issue. at this point a lot of parents including myself will not let their kids play football. soon the supply of players will start to dry up
 
This NFL thing (whatever it is) sounds awfully expensive. I doubt I'd bother with it at that price.
 
roadbloc said:
This NFL thing (whatever it is) sounds awfully expensive. I doubt I'd bother with it at that price.
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In any event, for most people it's about watching television, not going to the game.

Will football lose some of its popularity in the future? sure; it's a form of entertainment and in entertainment nothing stays at the top forever
 
I think saying that the NFL "imploding" in 10 years might be an overstatment...but I do see his point. It seems like the NFL's resolution to generate more income and a larger following is to churn out MORE product (expanded schedules, games on more nights, expanded playoffs) rather than a BETTER on-field product (new rules that basically make the QB untouchable, personal fouls on every other play, no celebrating, the debacle of trying to single out using the "N word" as a violation, sky high ticket prices and TV blackouts due to unfilled stadiums).

I'm not saying that the on-field product is "bad" by any means, but I hate the idea of just trying to churn out more product as opposed to better product. I would rather be left wanting a little more as opposed to feeling like "meh, NFL is on...NFL is everywhere and it's always on, turn the channel".
 
I think this is sports in general. The NFL gets away with it because they are the most popular, but there will come a breaking point where people will not be able to afford the games, or cable fees. ESPN might tip the scales to the extream with the amount they and the other networks pay the NFL.
 
Well this old bunny would find it a complete shame if the NFL or NBA was no more.:cool:

I mean what would these fine athletes do?
ScreenShot2014-03-26at104151_zpsc199227a.jpg
 
sdilley14 said:
It seems like the NFL's resolution to generate more income and a larger following is to churn out MORE product (expanded schedules, games on more nights, expanded playoffs) rather than a BETTER on-field product
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I love the sport, but I agree NFL is looking to make more of the product and in turn water it down. While I can understand some of the rule changes to protect the players, they have gone to extremes in some cases and the game is getting less enjoyable.
 
The NFL is controlled by some very intelligent, clever executives. Extremely wealthy, they have a very well organized team of administrators, lawyers, power brokers and highly influential negotiators.

While not without their problems and challenges, they have an excess of resources to assure they're capable of surviving and profiting for years to come. The NFL is to professional sports entertainment, what Apple is to the consumer facing tech sector.

Mark Cuban is but one voice within a large group of professional sports team owners. He's both right and wrong in the views he expresses, far from the most experienced he holds little sway within the big picture.
 
The TV product is too damn good and the in stadium experience is not interactive enough for today's younger generation. I agree with Cuban's comments.
 
I watched an NFL game recently and it was...boring. I played football in high school so I understand the sport but watching it is a pain. Plays are constantly stopped and there are way too many commercials.

http://qz.com/150577/an-average-nfl-game-more-than-100-commercials-and-just-11-minutes-of-play/

According to that article, the average NFL game has 11 minutes of play - that's less than baseball's 18 minutes! Why pay so much money for 11 minutes of entertainment and 1-2 hours of sitting around?

I get it, it's an experience. I recently went to an NHL game for the first time and got $250 tickets for $60 and it was a fun experience, though I wouldn't have paid full price. Unless you're a super fan, for whatever reason, consistently going to these games are a waste of money in my opinion.
 
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