The NFL is done for the year, but it is not pure fantasy to suggest that it may be done for good in the not-too-distant future. How might such a doomsday scenario play out and what would be the economic and social consequences?
By now we're all familiar with the growing phenomenon of head injuries and cognitive problems among football players, even at the high school level. In 2009, Malcolm Gladwell asked whether football might someday come to an end, a concern seconded recently by Jonah Lehrer.
Before you say that football is far too big to ever disappear, consider the history: If you look at the stocks in the Fortune 500 from 1983, for example, 40 percent of those companies no longer exist. The original version of Napster no longer exists, largely because of lawsuits. No matter how well a business matches economic conditions at one point in time, it's not a lock to be a leader in the future, and that is true for the NFL too. Sports are not immune to these pressures. In the first half of the 20th century, the three big sports were baseball, boxing, and horse racing, and today only one of those is still a marquee attraction.
The most plausible route to the death of football starts with liability suits.1 Precollegiate football is already sustaining 90,000 or more concussions each year. If ex-players start winning judgments, insurance companies might cease to insure colleges and high schools against football-related lawsuits. Coaches, team physicians, and referees would become increasingly nervous about their financial exposure in our litigious society. If you are coaching a high school football team, or refereeing a game as a volunteer, it is sobering to think that you could be hit with a $2 million lawsuit at any point in time. A lot of people will see it as easier to just stay away. More and more modern parents will keep their kids out of playing football, and there tends to be a "contagion effect" with such decisions; once some parents have second thoughts, many others follow suit. We have seen such domino effects with the risks of smoking or driving without seatbelts, two unsafe practices that were common in the 1960s but are much rarer today. The end result is that the NFL's feeder system would dry up and advertisers and networks would shy away from associating with the league, owing to adverse publicity and some chance of being named as co-defendants in future lawsuits.
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These players and parents know the consequences of playing.there needs to be a waiver signed clearing all leagues of responsibility of injuries
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit if it was gone, those players are waaaaaay over paid for what they do, regardless of getting a possible concussion.
ReplyDeletegerald i am sorry u don't like football. don't watch it. players go into it knowing full well what there up against. it was not until the government got involved with it did we hear about this so called crisis. you cannot walk out the door of your house without some sort of risk. maybe we should all be kept in our own little bubbles with the government feeding us, bathing us, taking care of our personal hygene listening to joyous music all day long. would we be happy then??? stay out of football, nascar, baseball, hockey etc. we were once a great country
ReplyDeleteWaivers in today's society are not worth the paper they are written!SUE SUE SUE redistribution of wealth!
ReplyDeleteAnd boxers aren't at risk? Good lawd got the cart before the horse just one more time. I imagine bungy jumping isn't that good for internal organs either, what they going to do, make everyone live in a bubble?
ReplyDeleteRecliner sales will be greatly impacted.Women will be ecstatic.Children will no longer be ignored on Sunday's,Monday nights,and whenever games are on.Somehow through it all we will survive.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 2:36, you forgot to mention sober.
ReplyDeleteGerald, its based on simple economics. Supply and Demand. Their arent many NFL players, but the demand to watch the game is skyrocketing. As long as we keep paying these prices, they keep getting paid the way they have been. And considering all of the good that most players do with their money, I dont seem the harm in them making millions.
ReplyDeleteGet over yourself, the entertainment industry as a whole is technically "overpaid." But as long as we keep letting it happen, it will happen.
95% of football players make much less money compared to say basketball players, baseball players, hell even hockey players... yet their bodies endure the most strain.
If anything, football players should be making more money. Unfortunately the NFL Commissioner and owners is/are crooks full of greed.
Gerald said...
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit if it was gone, those players are waaaaaay over paid for what they do, regardless of getting a possible concussion.
February 14, 2012 12:44 PM
I'm with you on that. I never watch sports.
gee maybe nascar crivers ought to sue nascar cause their were involved in car wreaks? Or maybe I ought to sue maryland for giving me a fishing license after I've hooked my finger. How about I sue the state for failing to educate all those stupid kids? or i sue the stripper for assualting my eyes!
ReplyDeleteHow about I sue the state for failing to educate all those stupid kids? 8:11 PM
ReplyDeleteHell yes. And they should give you a huge settlement too.