The Price of Protest: The NFL is in Real Trouble

Ratings for the NFL’s prestigious televised games are still sinking despite shallow attempts by the league’s ownership to get players to stand and be respectful during the national anthem. What started as a temporary boycott that showed all the signs of fizzling out fast – especially in today’s hyper-fast media environment – is now beginning to look like a problem the NFL will not be able to shake anytime soon. By aiding and allowing these despicable protests to continue long beyond their natural expiration date, the NFL has turned off many a lifetime fan – maybe permanently. Until and unless Roger Goodell (or at least a consortium of individual team owners) takes a firm stand against these anti-American protests, the NFL could be in real trouble.

According to one NFL ticket reseller, VividSeats, the problem isn’t limited to TV ratings and overall brand loyalty. It’s hitting the league where it hurts: Ticket sales.

The company reports that seat prices at many of the NFL’s stadiums have hit rock bottom, allowing fans to grab premier seats at, say, a Buffalo Bills game for less than $10! Tickets that would have sold for hundreds on resale sites only a year ago are now going out the door for $30! The Bills are hardly the most in-demand team in the NFL this year, but even teams like the Bears and the Packers are having trouble selling tickets for more than a few measly bucks. It’s astounding, and it’s impossible to pin the blame on anything or anyone other than these protesters.

Now, if you’re some kind of Black Lives Matter radical, you might say that the NFL’s financial troubles are worth it, seeing as how much attention these players have brought to the subject of racist police brutality, right?

Except, have they? Have they done ONE THING to raise the profile of that “problem?” Two or three years ago, that was the only topic you could talk about on cable news. Now? Not so much. In fact, it’s relatively rare that the subject of the police even comes up in relation to these protests. The protests have BECOME the story.

Once your little protest no longer has anything to do with the thing you’re protesting, you’re just doing it for your own self-gratification. That makes these kneelers the epitome of selfishness; they’re willing to tank their own careers and those of their teammates for the sake of what? Sticking it to Donald Trump? It’s beyond ridiculous.

Get your house in order, NFL! If it isn’t already too late.