Bob Costas says CTE will destroy the NFL

[gjv001]

If CTE is not eradicated from football, high school and college football will become a thing of the past. As long as pro football is profitable it will still be played. 

[Lurker]

17 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Wait till they get married.  They'll be dying for an escape on Sundays.  As far as the NFL, it is a $9billion / yr industry that keeps growing.  Look for them to expand globally in Europe, Mexico, and possibly even Canada.

Things change.   The twenty-somethings I know would never tie up their Sunday's by gluing themselves to TV.   That's old fashioned.   They're much more into doing/experiencing things and or interacting with other people on their free time.   Being a spectator is what the old folks do.

 

And after the crappy NFL Europe games we've seen, it's not likely the NFL brand of 'entertainment' will supplant soccer on a global stage...

[dwight in philly]

1 hour ago, H2o said:

Truth is a soapbox is almost as tall as Costas is, but it still isn't uncommon for him to climb on one. Changes will be made continually to protective gear and rule changes to help as much as possible. The NFL will never fold and there are still incredible numbers of kids playing the sport today. 

Exactly.. Costas gets tiring..Gun control rant a few years back.. at least this was sports related, but his observation regarding the NFL, CTE,.. Let him ramble on FB about it if he feels  people wanna hear what he thinks. 

[nedboy7]

They need to start with ending this Thursday night injury bonanza. 

[cd1]

$$$$$$$$  IN$URANCE  $$$$$$$$$

 

Some schools have closed their football programs due to the high cost of INSURANCE.

 

I wonder if the NFL can do anything to "stop the bleeding" there?

[Steptide]

1 hour ago, Shotgunner said:

I think Bob Costas is right. 

 

CTE not only hurts the players, and will scare off tons of new talent, but also forces unpopular rule changes.

 

Prospective players don't want to play as much, and viewers don't want to watch as much, as well as costing the NFL hundreds of millions on it.

 

Gone the way of boxing. It will be a long, slow death by a thousand cuts.

 

Boxing died due to ufc, which is WAY more violent than boxing itself. As long as the NFL is a huge cash cow, it will never go away. While CTE will probably always be a part of football, technology is always improving and helmets and treatment can always get better without destroying the NFL product 

[BillsFan130]

1 hour ago, Bangarang said:

No it won’t. Not as long as there are still millions of dollars to be made playing.

Exactly

[BarleyNY]

The horrific announcing is going to shoulder some of the blame.  

[billsfan60]

There was a survey of Olympic athletes done years ago in which they were asked if they would take a drug that would kill them in five years but would also guarantee winning Olympic gold, and the response was 50% in the affirmative. There will never be a shortage of players.  

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

thursday night games are destroying the nfl

 

 

 

cte is a serious repercussion from a sport that is violent. it will and has destroyed some lives but I doubt it'll be the straw that broke the camels back?

[jimmy10]

2 hours ago, billsfan11 said:

Yep. And I also think boxing died out because it lacked excitement.

 

If they get a few big names, which they are starting to again, boxing will rise

 

I hope so. A boxing match looks like an athletic contest. A UFC fight looks like a felony is being committed. 

 

But I’ve always thought that boxing declined because of corruption and mismanagement, and the fact that there were multiple federations which made who was champion of what very confusing. 

 

I hope the NFL does not die, but in the back of my mind I wonder if it will if there isn't a major advance in player safety or neuroscience. 

[GETTOTHE50]

Nah !@#$ bob costas. He can go !@#$ himself

[McBeane]

15 minutes ago, Steptide said:

 

Boxing died due to ufc, which is WAY more violent than boxing itself. As long as the NFL is a huge cash cow, it will never go away. While CTE will probably always be a part of football, technology is always improving and helmets and treatment can always get better without destroying the NFL product 

 

The problem is that no amount of technology will keep the brain from impacting the inside of the skull. Treatment and diagnosis while living are the steps that the NFL needs to be working towards.

[Nick the Greek]

Football is on the way out.. not really a hot take anymore.

 

what I wanna know is what is gonna replace it. No one seems to ever offer up an opinion on that.

[BullBuchanan]

Football is the greatest, most complete sport ever created. I think there will be a thriving audience for it long after we're all gone. Basketball and baseball are broken games that can't adapt to the strength and size of the competitors, yet football is able to continuously evolve even as the people that play it change.

What might not be there are the legions of new "fans" that have come around in the last few years. The NFL was able to pull in a tremendous amount of super-casuals over the last decade, and that will probably go away over time and we'll revert to 90's audience levels. 

 

Keep this in mind, football had a thriving role in American sport in the 50's and 60's when players had to have second jobs to pay their bills. There wasn't any real money in the game, they didn't have 16 games a week and it still thrived. I've seen a number of yuppies from my generation saying how they won't let their kids play football, and I say all the better. Get the pampered kids out of the sport who are groomed to make 20 million dollars a year, and maybe the NFL will revert back to the pinnacle of the game from the late nineties.

Edited November 11, 2017 by BullBuchanan

[rant_and_go_returns]

Focus moves to college. Players are young, they can heal.

Best players get one year to put on the NFL jersey and play for the Superbowl, then automatic retirment. 

CTE risk goes down, salary goes down, parity goes up, and outreach goes up as the NFL becomes more of a club sport than a media property.

[Buffalo716]

Football is going no where.

 

The inner cities are still loaded with kids who are using football as a way out of the hood

 

Maybe they do ban contact up till 7th grade, modified, but the game will never disappear 

 

College Football is a tradition that goes back over 100 years. And we have known it's violent for 100 years

 

It's a tough game for tough people 

 

and there will always be people to play it

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Football will be in trouble as soon as kids brain is positive for CTE. When I was in 10th grade I suffered 2 concussions playing football. I had another as a senior. I repeatedly had my bell rung playing pop warner all the way through high school. The focus is on the NFL, but there have to be many non NFL players walking around with CTE. 

[Pbomb]

What about boxing, mma, hockey. All invovle head injuries, all still around. There will always be people willing to play. There are alot of dangerous jobs around the world and people still do them

Edited November 11, 2017 by Pbomb

[BullBuchanan]

I'd trade for CTE today to have a short career as a special teams player.