This NFL season has nearly ended with T.V. ratings dropping by double digits for the first time since the 1990s. While last year’s Super Bowl 50 broke records for the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history, it was the third most watched Super Bowl in the history. However, not as many viewers tuned in than the previous two years. Here are just a few reasons why ratings have continued to drop this season.

1.  A national debate about San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem. In my mind, it’s a bit idiotic for a player who hadn’t started a game at quarterback since the playoffs in 2014, and doing that to possibly get your name back in the sport is just absolutely disappointing. Then, people want to call this man “a hero”, huh, no wonder he led other players to do that.

2. We watch the game to be a fan, a supporter of a team, with the love of also fantasy football. But there are just too many games. There are games Sunday, Monday, Thursday and some weeks even on Saturdays. Thursday Night Football has one game a night, except on the kickoff week with 2 games, Thanksgiving with 4 and Christmas with 4. Monday Night Football on ESPN, is the perfect example with the last game of the week, which ESPN is licensed to broadcast one game a week and 2 on the first 2 games of the season as well. If you own NFL Redzone or DirecTV Sunday Ticket, this lets you watch seven games at once, seven.

      3. Many people believe that it’s NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who decide to suspend New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games this season, due to the long-investigated deflategate which could have driven some fans away from the game. The NFL is also turning themselves into a police unit. We now believe that it could be some of the concussion problems with football, or the players not being civilized and mature adults by doing violent acts. As the players, why should they be suspended by a guy who know’s nothing about justice or court sentence either? 

4. Now, this reason may be a little different, but I think it’s teams that continue to lose. Take a look at the Cleveland Browns, who were fresh off their basketball team winning a championship and their baseball team almost win the World Series. They have looked down the barrel of a bad season and once again it’s them with winning one game. Another team, the former St. Louis Rams, now L.A. Rams, who nobody is watching their game in California because St. Louis fans are wanting to  watch the Rams lose badly for leaving this year.

Those were just a few reasons why the NFL’s ratings dropped terribly.