Roger Goodell Says NFL's TV Dominance Is Clear Despite Donald Trump Criticism

The President of the United States feels his tweets have caused fans to leave the NFL in droves. The commissioner of the NFL feels the ratings show otherwise.

"We always want ratings to go up, but we're 37 of the top 50 shows, which is higher than ever," commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Sunday. "We're likely to be the No. 1 show on Fox—excuse me on all of television, the Fox Sunday afternoon game. Sunday night, prime time is for the seventh year in a row the No. 1 show. Thursday night football is No. 2. I think dominance of the NFL in television is still very clear."

NFL ratings did decline year-over-year by 9.7 percent during the regular season, according to Nielsen data. That followed an 8 percent decrease from 2015 to 2016.

President Donald Trump has been a vehement critic of the NFL since taking office, particularly calling out players who sit or kneel for the national anthem. Trump said in September that fans are no longer watching because they "love our country."

Evidence Trump has had any impact on ratings is specious at best. A November poll found that 71 percent of Americans want the president to stay away from commenting on the NFL. Trump, who has tried to become an NFL owner in the past, has nonetheless persisted and criticized Goodell for allowing the players to be in charge.

Goodell says the league has been proactive in finding alternative ways for fans to view their product aside from television. 

"We always want to figure out how to expand our audiences, and that's why we're doing things with Verizon, we're doing things ... with Amazon," Goodell said. "Those types of things are how we're reaching more consumers and that's a transition and that's something that we're putting a lot of focus on."