The NFL entered Week 7 today and it’s obvious the backlash against players kneeling for the national anthem continues.
Here are a few tweets from around the league showing fans voting with their pocketbooks by not purchasing game tickets, leading to half-full — or worse — stadiums.
Courtesy of Gateway Pundit. All tweets show stadiums after kickoff.
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets
#NFL #NYJvsMIA RT @nsbbcom: Nobody cares about jet or dolphins @[me] pic.twitter.com/k6wPSlIRJG
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans
And we are underway #Browns #Titans pic.twitter.com/dcrirhjo6r
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 22, 2017
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The @Colts Lucas Oil is very, very empty… people are coming simply because that paid for the season in advance… @zkeefer @GreggDoyelStar pic.twitter.com/P4wjBs37Zq
— Timothy Riethmiller (@thetimdeluxe) October 22, 2017
Carolina Panthers vs. Chicago Bears
A lot of empty seats at Chgo #NFL game. #Bears usually sell out. #ESPN #CBS #FoxSports pic.twitter.com/STraGNEjPV
— The Weekly Opine (@theweeklyopine) October 22, 2017
As the tweet mentions, the Bears usually sell out. In fact, over the years, Bears games were the toughest ticket in town. Season tickets were willed to family members because there was a waiting list.
I am convinced that an unknown percentage of these empty seats are due to the anthem protests. But there are other factors in play, not the least of which is the price of a game ticket. The average price for a Bears ticket is the highest in the league at $131. Not exactly family friendly at those prices.
Still, some of those pics are unbelievable.
And in Los Angeles last month, the NFL’s #1 market, two teams combined did not outdraw a college game.
Playing at the storied Los Angeles Coliseum, the Rams opened their season in front of roughly 25,000 people in a stadium that can hold almost four times that. And Los Angeles’ newest team in town, the Chargers, have seen visibly poor attendance despite playing their season in a converted soccer stadium that can hold only 27,000 people.
Last weekend, both Los Angeles teams hosted NFL games, and their ticket sales combined didn’t reach the number that USC and Texas drew to the Coliseum on Saturday night.
As you probably know, the bulk of franchise revenue for all NFL teams comes from the multi-billion-dollar TV contracts. And now the league is signing deals to stream the games live on various platforms. The revenue will continue to pour in until TV networks begin to feel the pinch.
So far, the drop in ratings has not been significant enough to force them to renegotiate with the league.
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