Despite a string of controversies the NFL commissioner’s ability to generate money for owners helped protect him. But now their patience is wearing thinHow odd would it be if, after a tumultuous decade of debacle and debate in Roger Goodell’s NFL, the one to bring down the commissioner turns out to be Donald Trump?For the first time in his tenure the Goodell’s job is in danger and the uncertainty has come swiftly. Just weeks ago Goodell was on the verge of a five-year contract extension worth more than $100m. The new deal was believed to be certain, an affirmation that although Goodell has irritated many of the league’s owners and is wildly unpopular with fans, those same owners believed he...
For a while the world’s most lucrative league supported its players in the face of hostility from Donald Trump. Then the NFL looked at its bottom lineSomehow this is where we find ourselves in America in 2017: the president of the United States uses race to drive a wedge between football players and their fans while the world’s most-lucrative sports league caves to his tweets.NFL players are sacrificing their brains for a league that will make at least $14bn off them this year. Many are shorting their memories, breaking their bodies and forgoing any hope of walking normally past the age of 45. The majority of them do not have guaranteed contracts and while the very best are paid well...
Football’s head trauma epidemic is affecting the NFL, but in ways that could unpredictably affect the sport’s heretofore bulletproof business modelLike training camp stories on the upside of undrafted rookies, the reports of the NFL’s death are greatly exaggerated. When the latest study with sobering findings on the sport’s impact to its participants brains hit last week, revealing that 110 of 111 brains of former NFL players were found to have CTE, the result was the now-standard concussion news cycle punditry proclaiming that the NFL could face extinction in the not-so-distant future. That argument was only bolstered two days later when Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman (and MIT PhD candidate) John Urschel abruptly retired from football at age 26, adding to...
The decision to hold the Draft in Philadelphia worked out brilliantly, and there were some unlikely heroes and villainsThe 2017 NFL Draft is over and meaningful football is still more than four months away. That’s a long time to wait for games, so let’s just unveil some Winners and Losers now. Related: NFL draft: Bears pick Mitch Trubisky and manage to make Browns look smart Related: 'Fine me later': Takkarist McKinley wins hearts with draft speech to late grandma #Broncos Elway on drafting Chad Kelly. "I called his uncle and said he was a good kid.... We are full of confidence understands situation." Continue reading...
In 51 years of Super Bowls, there have been great games – but never had one gone to overtime, and never had one been so stuffed with brillianceIn 51 years of Super Bowls there have been game-winning field goals and championship-saving tackles. There have been epic drives and amazing catches. But for all the previous great moments in the history of America’s biggest game there was none greater than Sunday’s 34-28 New England win over Atlanta. It was simply the best Super Bowl ever.Never has a Super Bowl seen a comeback like this one of New England’s, climbing back after being down 21-0 after Atlanta’s sensational second-quarter outburst and 28-3 with just over 17 minutes left in regulation. No Super...