Remember When Football Was a Sport?

Roger Goodell

Image via USA Today

Roger Goodell

With TV ratings up and merchandise sales booming, you'd never think the NFL was in danger of disintegrating. But according to a new poll conducted by Bloomberg Politics, over 50 percent of Americans say they wouldn't want their son to play football.

These findings, of course, come at a time when the league is already surrounded by a cloud of controversy. With the allegations against stars Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, the protest against the Redskins name that won't go away and more and more scientific evidence showing that repeat blows to head cause brain damage, the league didn't really need anymore negative publicity. To make matters worse, only 17 percent of those polled believe that the NFL will grow in popularity in the next 20 years.

In crunching the numbers further, the poll showed that that wealthier respondents are particulary gloomy on football's future in America. Almost one third of those who make $100,000 or more a year believe that the game will decrease in popularity over the next two decades. The same sentiment was echoed by more than a quarter of college-educated respondents. Those same groups were also those most vehemently against letting their kids play football, with both groups being 62 percent in favor of not allowing it. It should be pointed out, though, that these are the same people fueling the sports popularity by buying the luxury suites and season tickets, paying for the TV packages and scooping up the merchandise. IF the NFL were to alienate this group, it could be a crushing blow for the league. However, something tells us that it'll be hard for these "elites" to look away come Sunday afternoon.

Head over to Bloomberg to read the full findings of the poll and let us know what you think: is the future of football doomed in America?

Football
Image via Bllomberg

[Bloomberg]

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