Ohio senator Sherrod Brown called on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to revisit the league's policy on TV blackouts on Thursday. Brown called the specter of blackouts this season "deeply troubling" and said the NFL should consider relaxing its TV rules as the country continues to battle through a recession. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday announced the league's first TV blackout for their home opener against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. NFL rules require games that fail to sell out within 72 hours of kickoff be blacked out within 75 miles of the home market. Goodell defended the blackout policy this week as good for the league as USA TODAY reported that as many as 11 teams -- including the Cincinnati Bengals -- could face them this season. "During these difficult times, working families are struggling to make ends meet," Brown said. "Although appealing, attending a football game is simply cost prohibitive for too many Ohioans. The average price for an NFL game ticket is $77 – nearly ten times the hourly minimum wage. The problem will only become worse, as 18 teams have increased ticket prices for the upcoming 2010 season." Source: USA Today
A politician using common sense to try & reason with Goodell? :icon_eek: Another sign of the Apocalypse...
Govt should have no say in private business as long as they don't break any laws......Dont they have many many mnay other issues to attend to
I typically agree however nobody is trying to take issues to congress or anything like that. This pollitician actually has a legitimate issue that involves the people of his state. If his people watching their team in a tough economical time brings some enjoyment them then I applaud the Senator. Not to mention he's 100% right in this case.
Abolish blackouts or reduce ticket prices. Either way, something needs to be done to make the game more accessable to those who can't afford to spend $100+ every two weeks to go to a pro football game.
