Bernard Pollard may be about to play in the Super Bowl, but his thoughts this week on football are melancholy. Pollard believes that rule changes and concerns about safety could lead to the NFL going out of business as a professional sports league. Is Pollard being pessimistic, or prescient?
- ggodzwon: "The NFL will never go out of business. Too many sponsors and deals in place. It is part of American culture and people will still pay for the games. However, I do see a huge lawsuit coming within the next 10 years due to all concussion related injuries. Goodell better be prepared for this. Time is ticking."
- lingsun1959: "Football will be around in 30 years. Even if the players are bigger, faster, and stronger and injuries are more frequent. The NFL is a billion dollar business. The NFL has a lot more political clout than other businesses of comparable size. Nobody will legislate it out of existence."
- D. Routh: "Amen. Pollard is talking about me and people like me. I am getting fed up with all the rule changes, and once all my old favorites retire, I sure won't be tuning in for NFL games anymore."
- Hankash: "Maybe they should have no pads like rugby players so they will think twice about laying out a player since the defender will also be at risk. The problem with pads (shoulder) and helmets is that the defender can use them as a weapon while protecting himself."
- theprodctz: "All respect to Pollard, but he doesn't mention the REAL reason why the fans may eventually start turning away from the game -- the fans are being increasingly priced out of the game because of expensive ticket prices, concessions, parking, merchandise, etc etc. "
- NYG_Joe: "If the NFL doesn't exist 30 years from now, it won't be because of too many rule changes like Pollard thinks. It will be because of not enough. If they cannot make football safer, it will become like boxing. Boxing was one of the most popular sports 50 years ago, but now it's just a fringe sport."
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