NFL Considers Offseason Overhaul

The NFL Scouting Combine is the mark for most NFL fans that the offseason has begun. Once the Scouting Combine is underway that also signifies draft season. Some fans love the offseason, but others can’t wait until training camp opens in July. Overall the NFL offseason is a long spread out process that loses steam as it progresses. Due to this loss of fan viewership, Roger Goodell is attempting to come up with new was of revenue stream leading to the idea of overhauling the NFL offseason.


“ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the NFL is considering changes to its off-season calendar that would move the Combine to March, the start of free agency to April and the draft to May. The NFL is also considering having all 32 teams start training camp on the same day.” (Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.nbcsports.com) There have also been reports that the NFL would like to make free agency signings more like the NCAA and have their own “National Signing Day”. These proposals by the NFL are a new and innovative path for the NFL to boost viewership and revenue.

So what does the NFL think this will do? By pushing all the events back a little it moves each event closer to the beginning of training camp and into more prime-time exposure for the NFL, along with an increase in exposure comes more viewership and incoming revenue. That is just the overall idea of it, but it gets deeper. Beginning with the Combine being moved to early March, the NFL feels that by widening the gap between the Super Bowl and the Combine the NFL fans’ interest in the Combine will grow. 

Next in the new plan would be the signing day for free agency, which alone should spike viewership and ratings for the NFL. One day, multiple big names signing. Nothing draws fans like news of fans teams signing the leagues top free agents. Then after the fans settle from their teams new shiny free agents the Draft hits in early May. More new players for each fans NFL team and all the hype makes the NFL Draft one of the most watched player selection event on television. After that you have mini camps and before you know it it’s July and training camp. The offseason process may start a little later, but once it begins it will roll straight through to the season.

This plan could be a great idea for the NFL in both the financial and marketing sectors of the league. By bumping the offseason back closer to training camp it helps the flow from offseason to preseason with less down time between the two. This is one of the better plans in the Roger Goodell era, and the fans may get on board with this plan for once. The NFL could use this plan to add to their monster yearly revenue and even pull away from sports in season during the NFL offseason. We will just have to wait and see what the NFL has in store.

---



Zachary Cintron is a freshman in Drexel's Sport Management program with a minor in Music Theory and Composition.  Zach also writes for his personal blog, Sports and Music Weekly. You can follow Zach on Twitter at @cintronz.

Connect with Zachary Cintron on LinkedIn.