ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Some people are threatening to boycott televised NFL games because mixed-race quarterback Colin Kaepernick has yet to land on a team and he took a knee during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Who’s up first? The New England Patriots, whose “Pat Patriot” is a white man.
Which team gets a pass? The Dallas Cowboys, because they were one of the first in the NFL to sign a black player to a contract.
All eyes aren’t on the NFL just yet. After all, it’s still pre-pro season, and there’s lots of college football to consume, including Virginia vs. William & Mary this weekend in Charlottesville. And the Alabama Crimson Tide vs. the Florida State Seminoles, before the NFL season kicks off after Labor Day. Whooee!
Besides, the Washington Redskins are packing fans in for tailgating, but notches in the win column — not so much.
And here we are: A Kaepernick-less NFL facing a boycott by the NAACP unless they get a sit-down with the NFL’s commish.
Now if any group of people understands how a corporate pyramid works, it should be the fine folks of the NAACP, where the board and the rank-and-file run the show, not the chairman. The chair is the face of the NAACP.
The NFL operates similarly, except Commissioner Roger Goodell is the redistributor in chief of the league, and while he doesn’t have absolute power or authority, it is his job to ensure all 32 franchises get an equal share of NFL profits.
And outside of ticket sales, concessions, parking fees and the like, the NFL draws in big bucks — from TV rights, which are paid in advance. Disney, for example, pays $2 billion to air NFL games on ABC and ESPN.
In 2014 CBS, Fox and NBC agreed to pay $3.5 billion through 2023.
DirecTV pumps in $1.5 billion a year until 2022.
Amazon.com, which recently bought Whole Foods, pours $50 million into the NFL’s coffers.
And the NFL Network pulls in another $1.2 billion from various affiliates.
The NFL owners pull in the dough whether we watch or not.
Not a bad setup. Not bad even by a stretch.
So it’s clear who’s gaining what besides the coveted Lombardi Trophy at season’s end. What will moms and dads, and neighbors and coaches at the Pop Warner, Boys and Girls Club, high school and college level win or lose?
They likely won’t be boycotting. They all want to see their men on the field and their daughters on the sidelines shaking their thing.
Fantasy football addicts and fans (and sports reporters) want to see and hear the pre- and postgame chatter and stats, and Monday-morning quarterbacking perks up the ears of gals, too.
Mr. Kaepernick made quite a name and an awesome Afro for himself with the San Francisco 49ers.
Along the way, Papa John’s and McDonald’s, Ford and Chevy, and Pepsi and Verizon are among the brands that helped the commish bring home the bacon to redistribute among owners, who, in turn, redistribute among the boys in the game and the guys and dolls who cheer and play to pump up the volume along the sidelines.
If denying an American dream to youngsters and college grads is the goal, the boycott leaders should redirect their energy.
If their intent is to unite people, turning your backs on the men and women who depend on the NFL is as unjust and un-American as Jim Crow was.
Mr. Kaepernick needs a job. More important, he deserves a job.
Don’t black out Mr. Kaepernick.
• Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.