Dear NFL: Eight Changes That Need to Be Made Now

Hey Roger,

Can I call you Roger?

I can see that you're deep in thought—probably a lot on your mind these days, what with the CBA issues and public arguments with the NFL Players Association, the StarCaps case, etc.

You have a lot on your plate.

We fans understand; you're a busy man.

It's just, we have some issues we'd like you to look at. Maybe while you're on a flight to or from Maui, or as you're perusing the back nine of your local golf course.

It isn't a long list—just a few things that need changing. It would be best for everyone to get these looked at.

It is time for the NFL to start benefiting everyone—the players and the fans included.

Sincerely,

Fans of the National Football League

8) Offensive Rule Changes

Does this guy look defenseless to anyone?

What is up with the "sissification" of the National Football League?

No hits on "defenseless" quarterbacks or receivers? Really? Was that a problem?

People get hurt in football all the time. The only way to stop injuries in football is to sign up for chess club (and not that boxing chess either—that stuff will get you killed).

But this isn't about injuries; this is about investment. Offensive skill position players are the faces of franchise and earn the most guaranteed money. So the NFL wants them protected.

Bull cookies!

The rules, as they stand now, prevent young defensive stars from ever making a name for themselves. "Leading with the crown of your helmet" looks a lot like a "form tackle" as taught by every high school coach in the nation—especially at NFL game speed.

Ronnie Lott, Ray Lewis, Mark Carrier, Jack Lambert...none of these guys would be household names if the current NFL rules had been in place for most of their illustrious careers.

Meanwhile, the best receivers in the NFL—Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, etc.—all can take hits while extended. The best QBs also know how to avoid the rush.

And if you really want to avoid injuries...

7) Mandate the Best Equipment

That is a mouth guard.

It is a mouth guard designed by Dr. Gerald Maher.

Because of that mouth guard, the New England Patriots have been consistently far below the league average in concussions. Other athletes, individually purchasing the mouth guard, have had similar results.

The NFL refuses to admit that there is any correlation.

Meanwhile, the NFL also carries only minimum requirements on things like shoulder pads, helmets, and other protective gear.

Why?

Is the NFL suddenly interested in personal choice and expression? (Notify Chad Ochocinco!)

The NFL has a boatload of money. It is time to subsidize and standardize the best equipment (including mouth guards). That rule change would have the greatest possible effect on the prevention of injuries.

6) Speaking of Mandates...

Leave him alone.

Really, just stop it.

Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Reggie Bush, Brandon Jacobs, Wes Welker...the whole bunch. Just leave. Them. Alone.

Seriously.

Not your cup of tea? Mine either. But there is no reason to fine a player for expression. This isn't the National Socialist Football League.

What is the damage of a touchdown celebration?

Does it make the league less "corporate?" Less Anglo-Saxon? Does it glorify "hip-hop culture" and personal expression?

Good.

In the NBA, fans get to see players' faces and tattoos and hear them screaming instructions or even expletives (in the case of Rasheed Wallace) as they run down the court.

It's a players' league, and the players become stars.

In the NFL, it's all about the name on the front and the logo on the helmet. Fans are detached and can only hear the one or two players "mic'd up" when sitting at home. Most players play in a shroud of ambiguity.

Let a man dance if he wants to or sign a ball with a Sharpie before he chucks it into the stands.

It doesn't hurt anyone, and some people actually enjoy watching it.

5) Charity Begins at Home...Not with Fines

While we're on the subject of fines:

Why does the NFL fine anyway? Are the owners running out of money? Are the NFL executives not getting enough salary?

Has the private jet run out of Scotch?

The real reason the NFL fines is (wait for it)...public relations.

The NFL collects fines and, instead of pocketing them, donates them to charity. Great, right?

Wrong.

It's a ridiculous standard that perpetuates the fraud known as the NFL's charity work.

Who donates the money? Who works with the United Way?

Players.

Who gets the publicity?

The league and the teams (and by proxy, the team owners).

So, Roger Goodell and the NFLPA are in a public fight about compensation for retired (read: disabled) players—players who played in an era when concussions were something only wussies complained about.

Meanwhile, those players are suffering on compensation checks that barely cover the medical bills while spouses and family are left unable to work because of the need to be at home.

Dave Pear (featured in this article) can barely work the remote control after years of concussions and a career that lasted far longer than it should have because Al Davis didn't believe in the dangers of concussions.

Oh, did I mention that the money the NFL donates then becomes a tax write-off?

So in review, the NFL takes money from individual players for dancing, then donates it to the United Way or the retired players fund, and gets both a tax write-off and the public relations spin?

Fix it now.

4) Overtime

This one is already in the works, and it is about time.

Everyone can agree about one thing: No one wants to see a seven-overtime "thriller" between the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions because neither team can get in the end zone to save their lives.

Especially if that "instant classic" is the early game and fans in those markets were missing a Colts-Saints offensive fireworks show at the same time.

Somewhere in between the NFL's nonsensical chicanery and the NCAA's never-ending FG fest, a common ground has to be reached.

Whatever it is, make sure Donovan McNabb gets the memo.

3) Preseason

Each year, at least one high-profile player or promising rookie gets injured in the preseason, effectively dashing the hopes and dreams of an entire fanbase.

The preseason is stupid.

Essentially, it is just a way to make more money.

The players don't really need it. The coaches, by and large, don't want it. The fans sit through it because it is finally something besides baseball to watch.

But the only real beneficiaries are (once again) the owners.

Shorten the preseason to two games.

Two meaningless games is better than four, and then the conversation can be about getting rid of it altogether.

2) Rookie Salary Structure

Matthew Stafford looks excited.

Against the Green Bay Packers, he's definitely not excited about a win. He's probably anxious to get home to his mansion and garage full of cars and gold bullion.

When the Detroit Lions signed Stafford, he became one of the highest paid players in NFL history and could have never played a snap for the Lions while still collecting over $40 million of guaranteed money.

The current system is absurd.

It allows Tom Condon and Drew Rosenhaus to annually throw an NFL team over the barrel and deal out lashes for no reason other than to hamstring a franchise for years.

High first round draft choices have never played a snap in the NFL. To think that they deserve to be paid more than the All-Pro players at the same position is ludicrous.

A position and pick-based salary structure is needed—one that is based on the average pay of the top players at the position, like the franchise tag.

The franchise tag for quarterbacks in the NFL for 2010 is $16 million—more money than Stafford earned in 2009. A great compromise would be a structure that allows a team and agent to structure a contract around that premise.

Year one is guaranteed at the franchise tag amount. Everything after that is not guaranteed and cannot exceed a 15 percent pay increase.

That way, the JaMarcus Russells and Joey Harringtons of the world don't completely destroy an NFL franchise with their absurd contracts and equally absurd play.

1) TV Deals

Many of us don't have DirecTV.

Many of us don't WANT DirecTV.

The NFL, because of its insane contract, forces some sports fans to get DirecTV.

In today's world, sports fans are not relegated to the media markets of their favorite franchise.

There are Lions fans in Seattle, Seattle fans in London, and Saints fans just about everywhere these days.

So why force fans to watch games they don't care about?

Instead of a package deal with DirecTV, let all cable and satellite providers carry every NFL game on every Sunday as individual pay-per-view events with package deals available for season-long "passes."

$9.99 per game would cost a Super Fan $159.84 for a regular season's worth of games. Drop that to $140, and this writer will guarantee greater revenue than the NFL Sunday Package generates.

Allow the same package online, and Goodell can afford two Maseratis.

Then, fans who do the unthinkable (move out of state) will actually have the ability to watch their favorite franchise play football without committing to a satellite company and clearing a row of oak trees from their backyard.

P.S.

The NFL is a group of privately held entities and, essentially, can do whatever it wants.

No one is suggesting that capitalism, free-market principals, and freedom be destroyed en route to "The People's Republic of Football."

For the owners, like the players, like the fans, like everyone, it's all about the Benjamins. Everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie or (in the case of many fans) something for nothing (or less than what is required now).

The point is, some changes, although different, strengthen the overall structure and strengthen the fanbase.

These changes will all MAKE money for the NFL in the long run in improved health, safety, economics, and viewership. These are changes that benefit just about everyone involved (except bad first round picks and their agents).

Finally, these changes help avoid the biggest money loser of them all...a strike.

With players and fans happy, the NFL can maintain its throne as America's (new) Favorite Pastime, and you can continue to stock your private jet with all the 15-year-old Scotch your heart desires.

Make it happen, Roger.

Make it happen now.

Michael Schottey is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Detroit Lions and the NFL Draft. He is also a team correspondent for DraftTek.com as well as a guest writer for MLive.com . Check out his podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/DraftCast or follow him on Twitter.com/Schottey