5 biggest issues facing the NFL in 2025: Beware of greed
Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps.
The NFL season doesn't start for several months but that doesn't mean we can't step into a time machine and look into the future. Particularly, examining some of the problems the league may face in the coming 2025 season.
Some of these issues are more tactile while others are more theoretical. But they are all potentially problematic. Here are five to look out for:
5. There's no team to hate
Hate generates interest. Not that the NFL needs more people watching. There's plenty, of course. The NFL averaged 17.5 million viewers last season, down about 2% from the previous year. One of the things that has always made the league even more watchable is hating a player or team. The Patriots were remarkable villains during their dynastic years. Historic team. Accused cheaters. Accused football deflators. Arrogant. They were historic bad guys.
There's really no entity like that now. Every team in the league is likeable. Go ahead. Name a team that's even in the same universe as those Patriots. Yes, you may hate the Cowboys because they're the Cowboys. But Dallas hasn't been truly relevant on the field in decades. They're too average to hate.
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles? Nice guys.
Kansas City? Difficult to hate overall. Though admittedly there are some, well, questionable dudes on the roster. But how can you hate any team where one of the players is dating Taylor Swift?
The Ravens? Quarterbacked by a hardworking, good dude in Lamar Jackson.
The Raiders? They are now led by a kind, elder gentleman.
Once another villain team emerges (and that will happen) the NFL will get even more interesting and, well, fun. For now the hate factor is low.
4. Backtracking on DEI
There are some people who agree with what appears to be (at least partially) some backtracking on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives the league had fully engaged in after the murder of George Floyd. (If you want to read about what the NFL is doing regarding DEI, my super talented colleague Jarrett Bell recently wrote all about it.)
Yes, some people will like that, but plenty won't. They are paying attention to what the NFL is doing and don't agree. If they weren't already suspicious about the league, they will be.
3. It's more expensive to watch games
If you don't have traditional cable, and you want access to every NFL game, you will need some six streaming services. The changing, more expensive nature to watching football might not be a long-term threat since people will adjust, but it will be an issue for some in the near future. It can be confusing and most importantly, it can be more costly to watch football in 2025.
2. Officiating
You may not have heard this news but the NFL relegated three officials back to college, according to Football Zebras, which relentlessly covers officiating.
It was an anecdotal indication of what many of us know with the NFL: the officiating remains highly problematic. The league will vehemently disagree with this but watch any NFL game and you can see it. This isn't new but it's still relevant. The speed of the game is superhuman while the refs are analog.
1. Greed
This will always be an issue in professional sports but especially in the NFL. The league has rarely paid a price for being greedy, so it plunges ahead with things like plans for an 18-game season. Maybe the NFL will never pay a price for constantly pushing the money envelope. We'll see. But in normal physics there is such a thing as saturation.
Next: 5 things that will go right for the NFL in 2025.
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