During a conference call with San Diego Chargers season-ticket holders on Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the inclusion of less appealing, low-quality preseason games in season-ticket packages.
According to Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Goodell's response was to state that the proposed switch from a 16 regular season and four preseason game format to an 18-game regular season with two pre-season game schedule remains on the negotiating table.
In the last proposal to players on March 11, the NFL offered to retain the current 16-game format for 2011 and 2012, and would "commit not to change" to an 18-game season without the NFLPA's consent.
Peter King's post-Super Bowl XLV poll showed that fans overwhelmingly opposed an 18-game regular season, which at this point, isn't a format that the current NFL players embrace. Perhaps, with enough financial incentive, that will change by 2013.
Goodell's response shows that he's still operating under the false belief that fans actually want 18 games, when what they've really been saying is that they don't like being forced to pay regular season ticket prices for preseason games.
If the league were to say, lower those ticket prices, not only would they lessen the fans' concerns about cost, the league may actually see an increase in preseason ticket sales from fans and families who may not currently be season-ticket holders, but are looking for affordable entertainment on an August night.
And the average NFL career can remain an already shockingly low 3.6 seasons, not that the Commissioner finds that to be a legitimate number.
"There is a little bit of a misrepresentation or a misunderstanding on that," Goodell said on Friday. "Frequently, it is said that the average career is about 3.5 years. In fact, if a player makes an opening day roster, his career is very close to six years. It is slightly under six years. If you are a first-round draft choice, the average career is close to nine years.
"That 3.5-year average is really a misrepresentation. What it adds is a lot of players who don’t make an NFL roster and it brings down the average."
source: Mac's Football Blog
Posted by Brian McIntyre
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