If quality of entertainment is rated by popularity, then Super Bowl Sunday is the greatest show on Earth. More than 155 million people, about half the U.S. population, are expected to tune in for this weekend’s festivities. Viewers will spend roughly $200 million gorging themselves on buffalo wings, chili and pizza while companies compete to capture their attention with 30-second advertisements costing $3.8 million apiece, or $130,000 per second. 

Waiting for Sunday, eager fans follow the media frenzy to pass the time. Unlike the quick buildup to the BCS National Championship—where three lower bowl games are played that week—there are two long weeks between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, leaving plenty of time for the media to stir up drama and gather entertaining quips from the players. 

Perhaps the most intriguing interview was also the most earnest. Ravens safety Bernard Pollard stole the show with his pessimism about the future of the NFL. 

 “Thirty years from now, I don’t think it will be in existence,” the seventh year veteran said. “It’s just my opinion, but I think with the direction things are going—where they [NFL rule makers] want to lighten up, and they’re throwing flags and everything else—there’s going to come a point where fans are going to get fed up with it.”

His complaints come in response to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s frequent suspensions of  players and continual addition of rules in an attempt to reduce helmet-to-helmet collisions and the consequent concussions. 

In the 2010-2011 season, Goodell increased fines for helmet-to-helmet hits as the season progressed—Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was assessed $20,000, Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson $40,000, and New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather $50,000. 

After the season, the location of the kickoff was moved back from the 30 to the 35-yard line to limit injuries incurred by players colliding at full speed. The Commissioner also updated roughing the passer rules. 

According to Goodell, these rules and suspensions serve to “emphasize the importance of teaching safe and controlled techniques, and of playing within the rules.” 

Goodell plans to implement further equipment changes to decrease head injuries and is considering shortening the season. He is excited for the advent of more comprehensive research—the most highly anticipated of which will be conducted by some intelligent JOBers—to facilitate his decision-making.  

Harvard researchers, backed by $100 million in funding from the NFL Players Union (NFLPA), plan to spend a decade studying brain injuries. They will identify a group of 1,000 retired NFL players nationwide and compare 100 healthy and 100 unhealthy former players. 

By the time this study is completed, Goodell may have implemented a handful of new rules—much to the dismay of players like Bernard Pollard. The Ravens safety is not the first to insist that viewers will become fed up with the decreased violence of the game. There has been a general outcry by the public that the myriad of changes is emasculating the game. 

On the other hand, more restrictions on defensive players’ ability to tackle opponents can provide potential benefits like increased scoring. As evidenced by other professional sports, more offense equals  more viewers. 

In 2004, the NBA outlawed handchecking, a tactic whereby the defensive player places his hand on the offensive player. Banning this practice hinders the defense and provides speedy guards more freedom to move. 

The NHL instituted rules favoring offense just a couple years later. After the 2005-2006 season, the NHL reduced the standard size of the goalie’s equipment and shortened the neutral zone. This created a faster paced game and contributed to more scoring. 

Perhaps the NFL is just behind the curve. While Commissioner Goodell’s new helmet-to-helmet rules are principally intended to protect the players’ careers, the regulations may also spur high-octane offenses. Defensive players must now concern themselves with the specifics of tackling, rather than just the action itself. In a game determined by inches and split seconds, a defender’s hesitation, no matter how slight, may lead to missed or broken tackles, and therefore to bigger plays. This greater offensive production, following the examples of the NBA and NHL, may lead to increased popularity as well. And with more viewers comes greater revenue. A richer NFL won’t fold. 

While it is hard to speculate what the Harvard study will find out about the long-term effects of helmet-to-helmet collisions, it will not lead to the demise of the NFL. In fact, by the time the researchers even complete this decade-long investigation, the NFL may be at the peak of entertainment. Offenses will be even more pass-heavy, taking advantage of defenses’ reduced ability to make legal open field tackles. Meanwhile, defensive strategies must be innovative to counter such offense. 
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Fans, players and purists alike may one day agree that the game benefited by substituting some of the violence with increased scoring and defensive nuances.