NFL coming to Australia? ( It’s official a NFL game will be play in Melbourne, Australia in 2026)
Mark Cuban said that a little over a decade ago and the NFL has only gotten more powerful.
Still too recent. Have to look to the future.
Look at it like this, how many children (as in school aged) you know that are diehard football fans? Can probably count them on 1 hand, right? I'm only 32 myself and even though I don't have any of my own, of the children that I know, very VERY few are invested in football; even just casually. Kids these days honestly couldn't care less about football (or almost any sport for that matter), they're too focused on video games, Twitch streamers/YouTube influencers, TikTok trends, ect. The majority of them can't tell you who won the last 5 Super Bowls, but I bet they can tell you all about the last 5 videos Mr. Beast posted.
Sure, there are still kids that play youth football to junior high to high school football, but for a considerable percentage of them it's either a secondary activity to those above or they play it because it's the "in thing/to be popular" or because their parents played and wanted them to as well. It's not because they actually love football or even just enjoy it; it's just an activity to do. When my friends and I were their age, we were out in the yard throwing the ball every chance we could and you probably did the same. I understand not every kid will have that level of commitment to a recreational activity but it's something tangible that connects those youths into eventually becoming paying customers.
Is that a problem for the NFL right now? Not at all, because the two older generations before them still are heavily invested in football thus the money keeps flowing from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandising, ect. But what happens in 30+ years when those generations begin to die off? Where will the money come from then? Because it certainly won't come from those now-adults that never had a serious interest in football for the first 20-30+ years of their lives. Their money won't be going into the NFL's pockets for game tickets and jerseys, instead it'll be used on Twitch subscriptions, Patreon memberships, and Fortnite skins.
At that point, youth football and junior high football will become obsolete because there won't be enough kids to fill teams which will then start to affect the talent pools at the high school and collegiate levels. Once talent levels drops there, then the NFL will begin feeling serious effects and it's downhill from there.
The NFL won't die overnight, but there's a reason the NFL is trying to expand worldwide to other countries. It's because they know if they don't, that revenue stream will eventually slow to a trickle compared to what it is now and eventually run dry. They're still trying their damnedest to get their claws into America's youth but they see and know they're losing that battle. Have to try and tap into a new source and hope to place roots down there to keep the cash flowing.
Cuban may not want to cast too many stones though, because the NBA will suffer a similar fate and it'll likely occur before the NFL.
Yep. It is happening to college athletics now, and we’re clearly seeing a similar pattern developing here. The suits can’t help themselves but to kill the golden goose. No amount of profit is ever enough for them. They will continue to strip mine all resources until the product is unrecognizable from what made it so successful in the first place.
They will undoubtedly bleed it dry then cry when there's nothing left.
Then that last sentence in your post is what will continue alienating its current viewership even more. I know I'm in that boat myself. I love football but the product the NFL is putting out and evolving to is steadily killing my interest.