NFL

[TheCatt]

Ooooooops. I picked up the Lions D to play against the Vikings. But forgot to switch, and left in the Panthers against the Patriots.

[TheCatt]

Cam picked a good day to not suck.

[Leisher]

In ACTUAL fantasy news, I made my first trade yesterday. I sent Alex Smith (#2 ranked QB) and Marshawn Lynch to another team for Chris Hogan and Frank Gore. I have Brees as my starter, so I was ok on the QB front, he wasn't. I needed a RB as Lynch was a starter for me and the #31 RB in the league. Gore is #17 without Luck and I expect that will improve when Luck returns. Getting Chris Hogan was a bonus for me as my third WR was ranked in the 20s and Hogan is ranked #7.

Feel bad for the guy I made the trade with because he started Smith this week, who has yet to play, but he sat Cam (37 points) and has Watson on his bench (39 points). Not that it matters as he's down over 60 points with only his QB to play.

Chargers in LA is still failing.

[Vince]

Maybe he should read the rules.

True. Because if there's one thing the league has shown us in that last few weeks it's their unflappable and stringent commitment to ensuring each and every rule, regulation and guideline is followed to the letter by the players.

[TheCatt]

Maybe he should read the rules.

True. Because if there's one thing the league has shown us in that last few weeks it's their unflappable and stringent commitment to ensuring each and every rule [and] regulation ... is followed to the letter by the players.

That's pretty much the NFL in a nutshell.

[TheCatt]

In the NFL? You should wear your mouthpiece

[Leisher]

True. Because if there's one thing the league has shown us in that last few weeks it's their unflappable and stringent commitment to ensuring each and every rule, regulation and guideline is followed to the letter by the players.

Meanwhile, in the NBA, Adam Silver has told every team he expects all players to stand.

This is delicious.

All the people boycotting the NFL because Kaep doesn't have a job, mostly black people, now have to boycott the NBA or show the world their hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, all the "patriots" boycotting the NFL because of the kneeling know how a decision to make. Do they support the NBA because they're making players stand or boycott them because they're restricting first amendment rights?

(Also putting this in the NBA thread.)

[Vince]

Meanwhile, in the NBA, Adam Silver has told every team he expects all players to stand.

Probably really smart move. Long before all this kneeling crap, I thought that we'd probably see the demise of the NFL and football in general due to the brain injury stuff. I always felt that the NFL would lose a lawsuit or two which would damage the reputation of football, but not really hurt them financially. But the long term impact would be people not letting their kids play in school growing up. Less participation will mean programs folding up in smaller schools and less interest in the sport in general.

So I've always thought it'd be pretty much gone in 20 years or so. Good to position another sport as a patriotic alternative early on.

[Leisher]

The NFL will be here in 20 years and still on top. I'm willing to put cash behind that.

[Vince]

The NFL will be here in 20 years and still on top. I'm willing to put cash behind that.

We shall see. I'm confident they won't.

[GORDON]

I've been wondering about the brain injuries, too. I bet if they are around in 20 years, pads and helmets look very different than they do today.

[Vince]

I've been wondering about the brain injuries, too. I bet if they are around in 20 years, pads and helmets look very different than they do today.

Helmets won't help. It isn't the impact to the head. It's the sudden change of the velocity of the cranium and the brain is being damaged slamming into skull the way an unrestrained driver slams against the steering wheel or windshield. Unless they are playing in those big inflatable bubbles, I don't see how they can prevent it. That's another reason I don't think they'll last. The millions of NFL fans that tune in now probably wouldn't for flag football. So I see dropping viewership alongside massive payouts being their downfall.

[Leisher]

I'm confident they won't.

I'm so confident I offered to put my money on the line. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. It's not going anywhere.

You know how "ratings are down"? That's bullshit. Ratings are down 10% overall, but what they don't add to those articles is that the ratings decrease matches the number of people "cutting the cord" (leaving cable). It also doesn't count the number of people who now watch games online. Why don't they talk about that in the "ratings are down" articles? Maybe because the truth is boring and doesn't sell, but people boycotting because of anthem protests does?

There's a reason Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc. are all rumored to be preparing to make mega offers for the rights to air NFL games when CBS, Fox, etc. contracts end.

The other thing about the ratings that they don't discuss in these articles is how far ahead the NFL's ratings are compared to baseball, hockey, basketball, NASCAR, etc. Most sports would kill to get just that 10% the NFL is supposedly down.

Also, it's sports. What exactly do you think men are going to watch? NASCAR ratings are also down. Plus, people fucking DIE in that sport, so it can't go on. College basketball is fucked right now, and has been since players started jumping right to the pros. College football wouldn't exist in your prediction. Pro basketball already has its detractors based on the loose rules and the personalities involved. Plus, you could argue it's more popular than ever and its ratings are still complete shit compared to the NFL. Hockey? Banned in your scenario because of the hitting. Boxing, UFC, etc. are all banned. Baseball, the world's most boring sport? That ball moves way too fast and people have been killed by it. Better ban it!

I think you get my point.

As many NFL players have said, "we know what we're getting into", and THAT is the real solution: Personal Responsibility. Insane concept, I know. When you choose to play football, you know it comes with dangers. Ditto for getting your driver's license. (Although, to back up your point, in 20 years none of us may actual drive a vehicle manually anymore.)

Youth tackle football numbers are down, but youth flag football numbers are up in equal numbers. It's being suggested that kids shouldn't play tackle football until high school.

Point being, you're suggesting the NFL will cease to exist because of head trauma. Those cases are over. They've been settled. No more lawsuits coming, that was part of the settlement. Nobody cares. Nobody went to see that movie Concussion. The players take the risk because they're making millions, while the fans want their gladiators.

There's simply too much money for the NFL and football to go away. More so when you think about all the other sports that would need to follow their lead.

Helmets won't help.

Also, I mentioned previously that there might be promise in HBCT (I might have that acronym wrong) as a "cure". There is billions being put into research on prevention and cures every year. You're assuming nothing ever gets found.

In related news...

Richard Sherman is kind of dumb.

Listen, I get his point, but does he really think even the vast majority of fantasy players are like that?

[Vince]

Youth tackle football numbers are down, but youth flag football numbers are up in equal numbers. It's being suggested that kids shouldn't play tackle football until high school.

High school football participation is also down and has been dropping for years.

Point being, you're suggesting the NFL will cease to exist because of head trauma. Those cases are over. They've been settled. No more lawsuits coming, that was part of the settlement. Nobody cares. Nobody went to see that movie Concussion. The players take the risk because they're making millions, while the fans want their gladiators.

We shall see.

The results are particularly worrisome because CTE is not a recognized condition under the concussion class action settlement reached between the NFL and more than 20,000 retired NFL players. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court denied petitions that sought to challenge the settlement. The denials left in a place an agreement that requires the NFL, which annually generates about $14 billion in revenue, to pay out approximately $1 billion total over the next 65 years. The settlement will pay each retired NFL player, on average, about $190,000. A retired player can receive up to $5 million depending on his affliction, years of NFL service and other factors.

A few hundred retired players opted out of the settlement, meaning they can continue to pursue legal claims against the NFL. For other retired players, however, they are bound by the terms of the agreement. Retired players who didn’t opt out had until Aug. 7 to register (late registrations can be submitted but have no guarantee of being accepted).

If CTE is as prevalent as the JAMA study suggests, its omission as a recognized condition from the settlement could undermine a core purpose of the settlement: to adequately fund treatment for health problems suffered by retired players.

[Leisher]

High school football participation is also down and has been dropping for years.

Normal fluctuations. Still over a million players and still the #1 sport in high school.

We shall see.

Believe me, the NFL didn't forget about adding CTE to the settlement.

Also, now that the research is out there, it'll be easy to prove modern players knew, and thus, took the risk.

Point being, the majority of players who could sue will be dead and gone.

Now going back to my previous statements, what do you still filling the vacuum in your scenario? What will replace all the contact sports? Are you suggesting all physical sports will die and be replaced with eSports?

[TheCatt]

Yeah, I think the NFL will take a hit (punny). How big of one, is the question.

High school football participation is also down and has been dropping for years.

It's not down much, it's mostly down in many geographic areas, but upticks in other areas have nearly countered it.

[Vince]

Believe me, the NFL didn't forget about adding CTE to the settlement.

So it was intentionally left out?

Also, now that the research is out there, it'll be easy to prove modern players knew, and thus, took the risk.

That strategy didn't pan out too well for the tobacco companies.

Now going back to my previous statements, what do you still filling the vacuum in your scenario? What will replace all the contact sports? Are you suggesting all physical sports will die and be replaced with eSports?

Not sure. I doubt all physical sports will die out. Football is the only one I see being impacted by this, with the exception of pro wrestling which also has a high rate of these sort of brain injuries (who would have thunk the fake one would be so dangerous?). I would look for a win against the WWE as being a harbinger for what is coming for the NFL. I suspect a win against the WWE and their smaller legal team and legal budget will set a precedent for them moving forward on the NFL.

[Vince]

Yeah, I think the NFL will take a hit (punny). How big of one, is the question.

High school football participation is also down and has been dropping for years.

It's not down much, it's mostly down in many geographic areas, but upticks in other areas have nearly countered it.

It's down pretty significantly

According to a survey last week from the California Interscholastic Federation, "football participation [in the state] actually decreased by 3.12 percent over the past year and about 10 percent over the past decade," per Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Killion added, "That is the second consecutive year that football participation decreased by more than 3 percent, although it still remains the high school sport with the most participants in the state. Also nationally, participation has declined slightly, about 1 percent in the past five years."

I mean, that's not "close the doors" drops, but that's pretty substantial for CA. And across the board it says they lost about 26k from last year.

Edited to note that the other 4 sports in the boys top 5 increased in participation numbers. Football isn't on the ropes now, but if things keep trending the way that are now and have been the last 10 years they will be.

[TheCatt]

But other sports are just so boring

[Leisher]

So it was intentionally left out?

I'm certain it will be argued that it's covered by some other description.

That strategy didn't pan out too well for the tobacco companies.

Whole different ball game. All this is speculation though as you nor I are lawyers, so these points are meaningless. It's like how outraged people were when a woman sued McDonald's because their coffee was too hot and she won. They didn't know the details of the case. Her legal team actually found internal documents showing executives knew the coffee was at an unsafe temperature, and they ordered it to be kept that way.

I'm certain more lawsuits will come. However, unlike you, I don't think the NFL will be forced into submission based upon them.

I doubt all physical sports will die out. Football is the only one I see being impacted by this, with the exception of pro wrestling which also has a high rate of these sort of brain injuries (who would have thunk the fake one would be so dangerous?). I would look for a win against the WWE as being a harbinger for what is coming for the NFL. I suspect a win against the WWE and their smaller legal team and legal budget will set a precedent for them moving forward on the NFL.

Vince McMahon is undefeated in court. He even beat the government on steroids. (Think about that for a minute.) The people suing have to prove that WWE (and the NFL) KNEW about head trauma injuries and did nothing to protect their people.

Considering medical science still doesn't have all the answers, that's going to be tough to prove in court.

Also, claiming only the NFL and the WWE will be impacted smells to me like wishful thinking. Not for nothing, and I'm not judging here, but this newfound doom theory of the NFL seems to be timed perfectly with the anthem mess. Where was all this doom and gloom the past several years?

Sidney Crosby missed an entire season because of a concussion, but hockey won't be affected? People have died in boxing rings and Ali was a blubbering mess for years, but boxing won't be affected? People die all the time in car racing, but that doesn't matter because head trauma trumps death? People have died in UFC and it's so brutal it's still not legal in all states, but it won't be affected? And so on...

End of the day, the NFL is the big target because they have the big money. That's what this is all really about. And money being the key here, if you really think the NFL, NHL, UFC, Boxing, Las Vegas, all the sports books, ESPN, Draft Kings, Disney (they own ESPN and ABC), NBC, CBS, FOX, Facebook, Twitter, DirectTV, and every other company/sport are going to let these sports just be killed by former players claiming they didn't know about the dangers you're delusional. Show me a player that doesn't want to risk brain damage to be paid millions and I'll show you 5 more willing to take that chance.

Brain trauma sucks, as does people dying while playing sports, but there's way, way too much money for it to just go away in the next 20 years because of it.

Also, when using numbers from CA, you have to keep in mind it's CA.