Executive Summary: The Big Business Of Football

The Big Business of Football This year will be scrutinized over the next couple of decades by business critics and fans alike as to whether 2014 was the pivotal turning point for the National Football League as the lone leader in American sports and as a thriving business with increasing annual profits and a current profit of $10 Billion. Although the NFL's fan base is at an all-time high and the league is a continually growing global brand that generates billions every year in profits, the NFL has an image crisis and the league should make some leadership changes and revise their conduct policies because of the many controversies in the media recently and the scandals that have plagued the league since Goodell took over as NFL commissioner

During the summer of 2005 Nine NFL players were arrested on domestic assault charges alone. The following year, long time NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was succeeded by Roger Goodell. The new commissioner came in ready to clean up the NFL’s act. Before 2006, the NFL handed out only a total of seven violations since it merged with the AFL back in the 60s. Since 2006, there has been over thirty violations and still counting. The embarrassing summer that the NFL had in 2014 might be looked at ten or so years from now as a missed opportunity or it could be remembered as the year when the league straightened up and got their act together, it all depends on what the league does

The league has more good guys than bad guys and should be conveyed accordingly. The 2.4% of the NFL that gets caught up in legal troubles shouldn’t represent the other 98.6%. Most players in the NFL are on the field to do their job and go home and be a positive part of their community, just like people who don’t play professional sports for a living. The NFL has numerous outreach and civic programs that each of the 32 teams participates in. Each one of the 32 communities benefits from having positive members of the city to donate their time, money, and effort to building up the local area. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Saints Head Coach Sean Peyton and Quarterback Drew Brees played an integral part in rebuilding the city and its economy. The recent controversies should shed light on the individuals committing the violent crimes and should not reflect upon the rest of the league, where most players are giving back to the