the thin line between love and hate (of the NFL).

It’s Super Bowl time, and this year’s event is like no other Super Bowl of year’s past. For the first time ever, this year’s game has taken the sports world and the entertainment world to a whole new level. When you take the world’s biggest pop star and add her to the narrative of the world’s most popular sporting event, it generates a lot of hype…..and a shitload of revenue.

I don’t understand the backlash directed at Taylor Swift. Yes, she’s known in every part of the world, but when she’s at a Kansas City Chiefs game, she’s just a fan rooting for her boyfriend, just like the other thousands of fans in the stadium. Of course the networks have had a field day with this….during the KC/New York Jets Sunday night game this season, NBC became obsessed with showing her during every commercial break in addition to every time Travis Kelce made a catch. She did not ask to be featured throughout the game, and yes, there was an upside to attracting people who would never watch football tuning in to see her. That “upside” has generated $331 million dollars for a “non profit organization”….you guessed it – the National Football League.

Thus my thin line of love and hate. Like many people my age, I started watching the NFL back when there was a real offseason, as players were making around $50k and had real jobs in the offseason. They lived in regular houses in their communities, and unfortunately a number of these players now have debilitating injuries that they to fight with the league for compensation (because the NFL doesn’t believe in CTE). Now we have players who are upset at only making $20 million per season, because they feel they should be paid more than someone else who plays the same position.

The slippery slope started in 1993 – that was the year that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brokered a deal with Fox Sports that changed the entire landscape of television contracts, generating billions of dollars in revenue for the league (plus he gave Troy Aikman a $50 million contract, thus opening the floodgates for players with free agency).

I was lucky enough to go to NFL games and see legendary Hall of Fame players like Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino and Lawrence Taylor when tickets were still anywhere from $20 – $40 per ticket. I pity the person who paid $200 to see Johnny Manziel (who ridiculously made more money in his career than Walter Payton….thats just WRONG.)

Remember when NFL stadiums had classic names like Three Rivers Stadium, Shea Stadium, Veterans Stadium and the Orange Bowl? Now we have GEHA Field…..what?? There’s a new mandate in the NFL, which ironically takes “keeping up with the Joneses” completely sideways. To make your team “more competitive”, they need to have a brand new shiny billion-dollar stadium…and guess who’s paying for the new one in Buffalo? The ENTIRE state of New York….call it a hunch, but I don’t think every New Yorker will get a free ticket. (And I wonder how much the Personal Seat Licenses will cost?)

Are the actual games better now? No, they’re not. Don’t get me wrong, there are phenomenal players in the league, but there have always been phenomenal players. Ask anybody in Denver about “The Drive” or Oilers fans (they’re still out there) about Earl Campbell…the difference is the players from back in the day played much more for the love of the game. Sadly, a lot of today’s players are more worried about their likeness and overall rating on the newest version of “Madden”…another “cha-ching” for the NFL. And if you want to see a stellar example of today’s NFL, look up Kadarius Toney (aka Young Joka) on YouTube…his alma mater (University of Florida) must be so proud!

In 12 days, a new champion will be crowned by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the man I hold personally responsible for turning the league into a greedy enterprise. Talk about the rich getting richer…when you get an annual salary of $47 million to help the owners make more money, you don’t have a worry in the world.

These are the things I think about when I watch football today….I don’t even want to know how much the commercials will cost for this year’s big game. Why? Because they’re expecting more people to tune in because of the “entertainment” factor. (Cha-Ching!) The game itself is an afterthought – 7 hours of pregame coverage on CBS this year for a three hour game. It’s overkill….would the actual game be worse if there was the normal 60-minute pregame?

Commissioner Goodell – at least you’re “for the fans”…..games the average family can’t afford to attend, million dollar contracts to players who take irresponsibility to a new low, pay-per-view games, and unnecessary billion dollar stadiums with “the fans” paying the bill…well done, Roger.

Enjoy the game folks…hope you get your money’s worth from the “Taylor-made” event.