The most compelling drama in the NFL this season unfolded on the field, not off it.And any thought that the league was in jeopardy of losing its spot as Americafavorite sport has been set on the back burner, which is mostly where the domestic abuse cases, national anthem controversies and even the concerns about player safety resided for the bulk of the season.To be sure, 2019 was far from perfect. Antonio Brown, a handful of overmatched officials and even a cameo appearance by Colin Kaepernick kept a spotlight on the warts this behemoth of a league will always carry. And certainly the Super Bowl will offer an opportunity to discuss Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hillhistory with domestic violence and the NFLresponse to it. But for the better part of the season, the stickiest topics have included the quarterback-turned-pitchman Baker Mayfield, and his overrated Cleveland Browns, the underachieving Cowboys and the possible end of the Patriots dynasty, to say nothing of a legion of rising young stars who were scattered throughout the league. It is led by Patrick Mahomes, the 24-year-old quarterback who brought the Chiefs to the Super Bowl to face the 49ers, the team trying to complete the NFLversion of a fairy tale by going from 4-12 to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the span of a year https://www.newenglandstoreonline.com/8-Patriots_T_shirts.Americaever-expanding gambling landscape, the continued strength of fantasy football, the leaguesteady growth in Britain and other countries, along with a fair share of good games placed in the correct time slots and made available on a growing number of platforms also played roles in keeping eyeballs focused on the games.It all helps explain the leagueback-to-back 5 TV ratings increases two straight years with an uptick after a two-year stretch during which the NFLstatus as the king of American sports took a hit, due in part to President Donald Trumpwithering criticism and, more broadly, to the leagueproblematic handling of myriad problems that came fast and furious. The league accounted for 47 of the 50 most-watched shows on TV last year.The NFL is in a better space leading up to the Super Bowl, than they have been in a few years, said Bettina Cornwell, the academic director at University of OregonWarsaw Sports Marketing Center. Less limelight can be a good thing.While staying out of the constant crisis-management loop, the league took advantage of trends that have been evolving for a decade or more.The NFLembrace of fantasy football at the beginning of the 2000s replete with in-stadium Wi-Fi advances, stat-heavy tickers and updates that permeate the telecasts and both league and team endorsements with fantasy websites set a template that, in turn, positioned the league to take advantage of the more recent expansion of legalized gambling https://www.newenglandstoreonline.com/79-Patriots_Dangelo_Ross_Jersey.Long the most reluctant of the American pro leagues when it came to acknowledging the reality that gambling is a key driver of fan interest, the NFL signed a marketing deal with Caesars Entertainment at the start of 2019. A handful of teams have inked their own casino deals, as well. Next season, the Raiders are moving into a $1.8 billion stadium in Las Vegas a city that NFL officials worked hard to keep at armlength for decades.They were probably the last one at the table, but they took the most in from what other leagues are doing, marketing expert Joe Favorito said. Theyre doing it with fan engagement on mobile phones, games that give fans ability to win money or prizes, games where itas easy as trying to predict whatgoing to happen on the next play.This season also marked the beginning of a changing of the guard, of sorts, among the star set.Mahomes dethroned Patriots QB Tom Brady as the league leader in jersey sales, according to the NFLPA. Seven of the top 12 on the jersey list, including Mayfield, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Giants running back Saquon Barkley, were 26 or younger. Only four of the top 10 were quarterbacks a lower-than-usual number that could be a subtle signal of a generational shift in the fan base.With one year left before the end of the current collective bargaining agreement, there appears to be far less friction between the league and its union than last time they reached this point https://www.newenglandstoreonline.com/18-Patriots_Cole_Croston_Jersey, in 2010.And if the tacit acceptance of gambling felt like a seismic shift, the next contract could bring another Last year, the league and union announced the formation of a committee to study and assess alternatives to painkillers a signal that a long-sacrosanct ban on marijuana could soon be relaxed.All of which bodes well for the league as it approaches the end of its current TV contract. The $1.9 billion-a-year deal with ESPN for Monday Night Football expires after the 2021 season, and the approaching deadline brings with it the possibility that the league might want to open up bidding on all its contracts for a full reset. No surprise, then, that among the thorniest issues in the new CBA will be the NFLdesire to add a 17th regular-season game and the players hard stance against it because of the health concerns it presents.Questions about the next round of negotiations have already become an overhang for many of our media companies Julian Edelman Jersey, as investors debate which package will end up where and at what cost, the analysts at the media research group MoffettNathanson wrote in a September newsletter.During the season, the NFL accounts for 25 of ESPNand CBS aggregate gross ratings points and 24 of NBCs, the analysts wrote a sign of the outsize impact the NFL has on an ever-splintering TV landscape.All the attention-shifting choices out there for U.S. sports fans only increase pressure on the NFL to keep its house in shape and to be sure, there are still plenty of festering issues that could derail it. This yearofficiating was widely regarded as below-par, in large part hampered by the leaguenew pass interference rule that allows calls and non-calls to be reviewed; it created confusion across the board and didnt necessarily solve any big-picture problems. The NFL is still grappling with how to make its game safer in the wake of an epidemic of head injuries that has forced rules changes and is chipping away at the sportgrass roots in key areas. The league continues to struggle in how it vets and disciplines its players https://www.newenglandstoreonline.com/33-Patriots_Bruce_Ellington_Jersey, as illustrated by the ongoing cases involving Brown and Hill . Kaepernick, whose hastily scheduled and relocated workout in November turned into a circus that brought everyoneintentions into question, has not disappeared. Nor has the cause he promoted a greater spotlight on social justice and police violence against African Americans Sony Michel Jersey. Next season will also take place during an election year. It was the Trump Hillary Clinton race, along with Trumpdisdain for the league in the wake of the national anthem controversy fueled by Kaepernick, that got some credit for some of the NFLdiminished popularity in 2016 and 2017.A fun Super Bowl matchup, betting and international games may drive interest and opportunity, Cornwell said, but big issues continue to percolate.
