HOFer ....I agree with your "minimum standard point". However, the NFL's ridiculous popularity is due in no small part to betting (both legal and illegal), and fantasy football. Having lost bets and fantasy football contests that hinged on things that happened in meaningless games between irrelevant teams that were 2-14 in the last week of the season, there should be a consistent standard that applys. The NFL can't publicly acknowledge that, but they know that bettors and fantasy footballers are part of the market they crave, so for a multi-billion dollar enterprise, a consistent standard should be applied.