Warrington Wolves • Re: RL take note (topic raised previously discussed on web)
To return to the original post on this thread, the NFL is in a different universe to the RFL when it comes to organising and promoting a sport. Obviously they have a massively different budget and so can afford things the RFL can't, but aside from money their general approach is much better.
Although the US is a bastion of 'me first' predatory capitalism, there is a general ethos in the NFL of the sport and the league being more important than any particular franchise. Concepts like the salary cap and draft system which actively redistribute talent and make it hard to sustain dominance are generally accepted by the clubs and the fans. You get regular turnover of leading players being traded to teams that are currently less successful and there is not the same hierarchy of "big" and "small" clubs as you get over here. When elite college players get drafted to a team that had a poor record last year, they see it as an honour to be the future of the franchise and be trusted as the player who could take them to better times. Over here I bet star juniors would be miffed if they found themselves signing for Widnes or Salford (although I suppose it's easier to accept when you sign a multimillion dollar contract like the top NFL draftees do!).
Also the NFL is powerful relative to the individual clubs. You have "big" clubs like Dallas Cowboys etc, but they don't dictate to the league how the sport should be run and the rules are not designed in order to preserve the dominance of the already-successful. The league stands alone and lays down the rules to the clubs.
Their advertising is obviously excellent but a big part of the way they have promoted the league over the years is through NFL films, which are always superbly produced, and enable the sport to be introduced to a casual audience through a drama-documentary style. Now they are expanding that further through licensing the "All or Nothing" series on amazon prime. Quite a few people I work with who weren't traditional NFL fans have watched a couple of series of All or Nothing and now are starting to follow the BBC NFL coverage and a couple bought tickets for the Wembley NFL games. The NFL and clubs are very generous in terms of the time and exposure they are giving the film makers but they see the big picture as to the exposure this kind of stuff gives their sport. I would so love to see the makers of NFL films produce Super League films, it would make our game look incredible.
Before too long there will be an NFL franchise in the UK and although they won't be a direct competitor with RL for supporters because the seasons don't clash, they will definitely be a competitor for the best upcoming athletes because the salary even a squad player would get in an NFL franchise would be way higher than anything a RL player could earn.
Although the US is a bastion of 'me first' predatory capitalism, there is a general ethos in the NFL of the sport and the league being more important than any particular franchise. Concepts like the salary cap and draft system which actively redistribute talent and make it hard to sustain dominance are generally accepted by the clubs and the fans. You get regular turnover of leading players being traded to teams that are currently less successful and there is not the same hierarchy of "big" and "small" clubs as you get over here. When elite college players get drafted to a team that had a poor record last year, they see it as an honour to be the future of the franchise and be trusted as the player who could take them to better times. Over here I bet star juniors would be miffed if they found themselves signing for Widnes or Salford (although I suppose it's easier to accept when you sign a multimillion dollar contract like the top NFL draftees do!).
Also the NFL is powerful relative to the individual clubs. You have "big" clubs like Dallas Cowboys etc, but they don't dictate to the league how the sport should be run and the rules are not designed in order to preserve the dominance of the already-successful. The league stands alone and lays down the rules to the clubs.
Their advertising is obviously excellent but a big part of the way they have promoted the league over the years is through NFL films, which are always superbly produced, and enable the sport to be introduced to a casual audience through a drama-documentary style. Now they are expanding that further through licensing the "All or Nothing" series on amazon prime. Quite a few people I work with who weren't traditional NFL fans have watched a couple of series of All or Nothing and now are starting to follow the BBC NFL coverage and a couple bought tickets for the Wembley NFL games. The NFL and clubs are very generous in terms of the time and exposure they are giving the film makers but they see the big picture as to the exposure this kind of stuff gives their sport. I would so love to see the makers of NFL films produce Super League films, it would make our game look incredible.
Before too long there will be an NFL franchise in the UK and although they won't be a direct competitor with RL for supporters because the seasons don't clash, they will definitely be a competitor for the best upcoming athletes because the salary even a squad player would get in an NFL franchise would be way higher than anything a RL player could earn.
Statistics: Posted by sally cinnamon — Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:47 pm