Why the NFL Doesn't Care If Your Team Wins or Loses

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with lots of eyeballs (like in New England or LA). Small market teams like NO & KC get the shaft, and no one says a word, because the checks still clear. It's pure entertainment, nothing more.

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KC vs Saints would have generated better national viewership ratings.

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But they still got 45% of the TVs in the country

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which was bad. not good enough. lower than expected. not the bar they set. not the type of ratings to pay for the commercial $ slots they want to sell.

yes, league does care about money. but what played out at end of year did not help the nfl make more $ otherwise speaking.

45% viewership seems like a good number from the outside. (Its almost 50% of the nation tuning in). But in the NFL's eyes, that is one of the worst looks that they could have. Goodell thought if he can pit the leagues greatest dynasty vs the leagues biggest market, people would be tuning-in in droves. And he was probably right if the NFCCG did not end the way it did. Yes, if the Saints would have lost "fairly", the NOLA market would have tuned out from the Super Bowl bc of anger, but the rest of the nation would have been super excited to see McVay vs Belichick, Glitz/Glamour vs Grind/Toughness. And since ratings/marketing matters, the Rams victory would have been touted as a fitting end to the Patriots dynasty (which started back in '01 with the same teams in a dome). The narratives for that game keep on coming, and they are more attractive to the NFL than the narratives of Brees v Brady/Payton v Belichick game. TBH, even NOLA would have probably given a mid 30s to low 40-ish rating for that super bowl if the Saints loss would have been fair.

But that didn't happen. Goodells cronies (the refs) screwed up majorly and refused to call one of the (if not THE MOST) blatant penalties (choose either PI or helmet-to-helmet) int he history of the "game". Guarantee Goodell was furious that the penalty happened in that moment and with how egregious it was. It wasn't suppose to be like that, the Rams were suppose to win close but "fairly". His plan had failed him. Now for the next 14 days, all he would hear is how the Saints were cheated (they were) and the Rams didn't deserve to be there. His planned Super Bowl was tarnished. Now he couldn't let the Rams win and really jolt that garbage LA fan base because then the story of how NOLA was cheated would NEVER go away. The game is already marked with an asterisk, and it would have only been more prominent if the Rams win.

So we ended up with what we got. The Patriots hoisting another Lombardi, and the fake Rams team putting their tails between their legs and going back to their "fan base".

Look for next season with the Saints (great narrative with redemption after being scorned by the refs/league) playing an AFC media darling team (a team similar to this years KC team or possibly even KC) in the super bowl.

This is how the NFL works under Goodell, you either build a new stadium to host a super bowl and play in one at some point, or become a media darling/push a narrative that is beneficial to the bottom-line.

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the fake Rams team putting their tails between their legs and going back to their "fan base".

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Yep, all four of them

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KC vs Saints would have generated better national viewership ratings.

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I think so too, or even a Brees vs Brady type of angle. Had Peyton there as guest commentator. Talks about both teams etc.