Totally understand. But to be fair, I'm talking only about how watchable and exciting the games are. I know as people get married, have kids, get jobs, etc. they have less time for football. But that's a problem for the NFL every year since it's inception. In every industry that relies on people having some free time, they will lapse some customers due to growing out of the hobby, more life responsibilities, etc.
I'm talking about for those of us who are willing and able to watch. According to those articles, folks are tuning in then tuning out. It's people who want to watch the games, they're just bored of it once it starts. The talk has been quiet for the past few years but really starting to get louder and louder. I think it's becoming a legitimate problem for the NFL. Yes there are other factors (cord cutting, more entertainment options, some just growing up like this poster, boycotts for various political reasons, etc.) but a real, serious problem is that people who CAN and WANT to watch NFL football are just flat not entertained anymore by the games. College football does not have this problem. Refs aren't as flag happy, there are variations in offensive styles, QBs aren't just taking the safe routes every time, etc. Many reasons. It's super interesting to me and I think the NFL needs to immediately find ways to get the actual game play closer to the way it used to be. You can still get head shots out of the game while not flagging DB's for every minor tug and push. Let DB's play, give QB's incentive to throw the ball down the field, etc.
