4 days ago
Roger Goodell sees Apple and Google, not NBA and MLB, as NFL's competition
Once upon a time, the NFL competed with other American sports.
Once upon a time, the NFL competed poorly with other American sports.
Now, the NFL doesn't even view other American sports as competition.
A recent email regarding Ken Belson's upcoming book — EVERY DAY IS SUNDAY: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut — shares a quote Commissioner Roger Goodell private made in the aftermath of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
'We're not competing with the NBA or MLB,' Goodell said. 'Our competitors are Apple and Google.'
He's right, even if the NFL is doing business with Google and could soon be doing business with Apple. The NFL keeps growing. Its influence expands to business beyond football. It's the one thing that can consistently attract millions to watch an event live, from the significant (like the Super Bowl) to the trivial (like the Hall of Fame game). Even the draft, which could be done via group text, has been shaped into must-see TV and a live event that draws hundreds of thousands to witness, well, not much of anything.
Regardless of where the NFL goes from here, it has left other American sports in the dust. And, yes, it is targeting much bigger fish.
There's another competitor that Goodell didn't mention. On the surface, it seems ridiculous to even discuss. But the NFL surely hopes to chase, and to catch, soccer.
Yes, it's ridiculous. At least as ridiculous as it would have been to suggest that pro football will catch Major League Baseball in the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
