The NFL’s Over-Commercialization

When it comes to advertisements and football, I've tried to remain sanguine about it over the years and not get too bent out of shape about it.

After all, you have to take the bad with the good, and we are getting to the point where we can easily watch games that we couldn't just a few years ago. A couple weeks ago, every single Division 1-A college football game was being broadcast somewhere, either online or on television. Every last one.

So, if in order to make that possible, there needs to be a couple additional commercial breaks, or have every aspect of the game "sponsored" by one entity or another, fine.

Maybe about 10 years ago, however, I noticed one facet to in-game advertising that bothered me: a commercial break before and after a kickoff. A bit much, that.

But I tolerated it. I think it was two years ago when I noticed a newer, more insidious trend, one that actually upsets me.

Networks started going to commercial ... during official reviews of disputed plays. Now you only get to the replay several times from different angles if you're lucky. Who doesn't enjoy watching the replays and making up their mind?

And what black-hearted soulless suit looked at those replays and said, "You know, we should be getting some commercials in there!" I really would like to learn learn who that brainchild belonged to and, quite simply, beat him up.

Now comes word that ESPN or the NFL, is asking teams to call timeout if they haven't got in their allotted commercial breaks.

Of course, ESPN denies it. However, as the article states, "A source tells us that it's not unprecedented for the league to take steps in order to get TV timeouts in. [Referee Mike] Carey is an experienced official and was likely searching for a way to get the breaks in, with possible input from the NFL." Titans coach Jeff Fisher basically confirmed it. Whether it's the idea of the NFL or ESPN matters not.

This issue came up because Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio did indeed call two timeouts, the same number of commercial breaks the game was short by. He called them when they were down 20, didn't have the ball, with less than two minutes left. He called them to help the league get all their commercial breaks in, I don't care what Fisher's hypothetical alternative reason is. He's just trying to protect his coaching confederate.

In general, I reject the "slippery slope" argument as a logical fallacy. But since the trend towards finding creative ways to stick in more ads has been a decades-long trend, I think it's safe to say it's a matter of if, not when, the audacity of the NFL (and other leagues) in luring the interest of advertisers at the expense of fans gets even more brazen. Some predictions:

2011: Commercials run instead of showing the extra point attempt after touchdowns. Nothing ever happens on those! And if something does, we'll just show 'em the replay when we come back.

2012: Large squares with silent ads will appear on the field, utilizing the "yellow line" technology we see today.

2013: The large squares are no longer mute. You hear them instead of the announcers and atmosphere once a quarter.

2014: You know how the yellow line stays "under" the players, so to speak? So if a defense is lining up on the line, you see the players, not the line. So it is with the large squares, until 2014. It's only fair the ads come first optically, right? It will appear as if the players are being slipping under them, and emerging on the other side.

2017: Instead of just once a quarter, the large square commercials play all game long. For a fee, you can go back to "mute" squares. People will sign up in droves. This is great, it's just like 2012 again!

2019: Want to see your team in their actual helmets? Better go to a game in person. On TV, the helmets will now display a small animated ad.

2022: Games will only be shown in the upper right quadrant of your TV. The rest will be ads. There will be no sound from the football game.

2025: For a fee, you can get the ad reduced to one quarter of the screen, with authentic game sounds and announcer analysis in the fourth quarter. People will signup in droves. This is great, it's just like 2019 again!