NFL Owners Approve Rule Change

Originally written on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017

I believe him. Don’t you?? YOU DON’T?! Yeah, me neither. Roger Goodell is a pawn for NFL owners. He opens his mouth and their words come out. Sooooo, NFL owners are now hiding behind heaping piles of bulls*** statements like the one pictured above. On Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017, NFL owners unanimously voted to change overtime in the regular season from 15-minutes to 10-minutes. This change will take place in the preseason as well. The claim is this was done out of concern for player’s safety. Yeahhhh..okayyyy..and my birthdate was May 22nd, 2017 (that would be yesterday for those paying attention).

First of all, NFL owners only care for their player’s safety as long as they are healthy enough to produce at a high level on the field. The rest, no matter what they say (or Goodell says), DOES NOT MATTER!! Shortening overtime games from 15 to 10-minutes reduces injury risk about as much as Jaywalking stops people from crossing the street in Midtown Manhattan whenever the hell they want.

Second, how many games will this actually affect? The answer is not a lot. Ties became less likely in 1974 when the NFL introduced an overtime period. Since then, only 22 games have ended in a tie. And in 2012, overtime rules were modified yet again. That change added a twist, ever so slightly breaking away from the sudden-death format. For a refresher of the 2012 rule change, click here. And today, NFL’s overtime period evolves even further.

Oh, you want the real reason for this inane modification?? Fair enough.

Here it is: as petty as this sounds..it’s all about the Benjamin’s baby. Because as they say, money makes the world go ’round. Just because it’s cliché, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Don’t they have enough money you ask?? HA! Yeah, because people with nine zero’s in their bank account don’t want more money. I bet Jim Irsay is still a ‘take a penny’ kind of guy. Even though in reality this rule change won’t actually change anything, NFL owners believe it will enhance their product. And yes, in turn enhance their bottom line. I go on tangents a lot. You must get used to them.

Here are the reasons NFL owners believe they are enhancing their product:

1. The 1st reason is already working. We are talking about this rule change. As they say, any publicity is good publicity.
2. They think overtimes will be more exciting because teams will play to win rather than tie.
3. They think there is less of a chance fans turn the TV off if the game is guaranteed to be shortened.
4. They actually think this makes their Thursday night product more watchable. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. But seriously, owners actually think getting players off the field faster on a Sunday will make them play better on a Thursday.

IF YOU ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT PLAYER’S SAFETY, THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL WOULDN’T EXIST!!

No matter how inconsequential, this rule change is stupid. It will inevitably cause more ties. It won’t improve player’s safety. It won’t enhance the overall NFL product. NFL owners collectively stomped their feet like a spoiled 4-year old, and they got their way.

How do you feel about this change? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Do you not care? Tell me in the comment section below.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. You can also follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!