The ratings are in. And Thursday night’s NFL opener between the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs managed a 14.6 rating. That is down from 16.5 for last year’s opener and 17.7 for the year before.
Was this due to the protests at NFL games during the national anthem (yes, one occurred this year as well as last year)? No one can possibly know for sure.
But do I think that had plenty to do with it? Yes I do. And if that assumption is correct, this will be another down year for the NFL.
What will the league do if viewership continues to trend downward and, it is felt, the downward trend is because of disrespect during the national anthem? That is a question I am sure NFL owners are not looking forward to dealing with.
To be continued…
