1) I would scrap the agreement with College Football for the weekend day monopoly, where one is on saturday and other is on sunday. Gradually add more games on saturday, start next year with allowing multiple college football games on labor day sunday afternoon (not just night) before the nfl season and nfl games on Army Navy saturday, and keep increasing the intermixing over time.So if you were the emperor of the NFL, how would you try to turn the ratings thing around?
My first moves would be to:
1) Change the pregame protocol so that players are in the locker room for the national anthem (impossible in real life for political reasons), and;
2) Simplify the catch rule so that there isn't a replay required for every catch/no-catch call
3) Loosen up the rules on pass defense so that PI and defensive holding aren't technically happening on every single play, and so that they are clearer to see/call when they do happen
4) Eliminate replay except during the last few minutes of a game, and make everything reviewable during that time
2) Reduce or eliminate the TNF games (other than first week of season). Perhaps move half of the weeks to Friday night as an experiment.
3) Eliminate SNF during the World Series week, and first week of the season, and possibly if the are any other weeks with a large competitor event (I don;t believe there are but could be wrong).
4) Be more consistent on holding call. i.e. call the ones that are most blatant and part of the play (yes there is holding of some sort on every play
5) Agree on reduce commercials. Maybe put a sponsor patch on a shoulder or something.
6) Eliminate network monopoly for in-market home team. (show 4 national network games every Sunday afternoon, not 2, not 3, but 4) This is easier to do if you eliminate TNF.
7) Generally, embrace the technological revolution.
8) Agree on the drugs
9) Longer suspensions for toolbags such as Greg Hardy and Ray Rice.
10) Get the calls right in the beginning so there are fewer instant replays.