NFL vs. EPL: 5 Reasons Why American Fans Have It Better Than English Fans
If youโre like me, a Super Bowl title represents the peak of success for your favorite NFL team.
As a Chicago Bears fan, I am stoked about the upcoming NFL playoffs.ย Despite a backward strategy which consists of a historically incompetent offense and complete reliance on defense and special teams to produce scoring opportunities, we occasionally have the chance to compete for a Super Bowl title.ย Having just earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, we actually have a shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy this year.ย In fact, since all but four of the 32 NFL franchises have played in the Super Bowl, fans of every team can legitimately harbor championship dreams.
This is not the case for English football.
As an equally dedicated Manchester United fan, I simply feel sorry for nearly all of the other 20 teams which have absolutely no chance of winning the Barclayโs (English) Premier League (EPL) title.ย Since the EPLโs formation in 1992, only four teams have won the league title and only Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal have won this title more than once.ย Though Manchester City and their new billionaire owner threaten to break into the elite triumvirate, this still leaves only four of 20 teams as legitimate title contenders.
Hereโs my take on why the EPL has so few contenders.
1. EPL Lacks a Playoff System
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EPL teams plays 38 games each season.ย Teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss.ย The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the title.ย Unlike the NFL where the best team through three or four playoff games is crowned as champion, the EPL champion must excel throughout the entire season.
However, whereas NFL teams compete in a single competition, EPL teams compete in other English tournaments such as the FA and Carling Cup competitions which feature playoff systems.ย Nonetheless, the best sides often bench their best players during these competitions in order to rest them for league games and European competitions.ย This, unfortunately, decreases the legitimacy of these tournaments as the big clubs would presumably perform better if they always played their top players.
2. EPL Lacks a Draft
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There is no annual draft in English soccer.ย Much like collegiate sports teams, English clubs are allowed to recruit any player from virtually anywhere in the world.ย Naturally, Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal snatch the best young players in the same way that Alabama and Florida lure top prospects each season.ย Without a draft, the top teams always end up with a grossly disproportionate share of the top talent.๏ปฟ
Arsenal FC traditionally dominates recruiting as manager Arsene Wenger has a knack for snatching talented youngsters and developing them into world class footballers.ย Captain Cesc Fabregas and highly-rated England internationals Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere joined the Gunners well before their 18th birthdays and have since developed into world class players.ย
Man U are no slouches either, having recruited talented youngsters including Wayne Rooney, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and a fellow by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.
3. EPL Uses Relegation Instead of a No. 1 Draft Pick
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Since there is no draft, the worst team cannot be gifted with a No. 1 selection.ย Instead, the EPL demotes the three worst teams to the English Football Championshipโthe second highest level of football in England.ย These EPL vacancies are then filled by the three top teams from the Football Championship.
Relegation not only prevents weaker teams from directly acquiring better players but also ensures that they will not be able to keep their top players.ย Since relegated teams are no longer members of the Premier League, they lose their share of the Premier League television deal.ย
For smaller teams that do not make ridiculous amounts of money from sponsorships and ticket sales, this loss can lower their revenue tremendously.ย No longer able to afford top players, they are forced to sell to the wealthier Premier League teams.ย As a result of losing top talent, relegated teams may find it difficult to succeed even in the weaker Football Championship.
Conversely, teams that are promoted from the Football Championship to the Premier League should benefit from the injection of EPL television deal money and increased domestic and international exposure.ย However, these sides are often hesitant to spend large sums of money as potential relegation the following season could leave them unable to afford new expenses.
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4. EPL Utilizes Transfers Instead of Trades
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In English football, teams rarely trade players.ย Instead, one team usually pays a transfer fee to another team to acquire the rights to a particular player, and the player and his new club then negotiate a new contract. Under this system, wealthy clubs can purchase top players from small teams without exchanging any of their own talent.ย
Considering that existing contracts are terminated once the buying team meets the selling team's price, long-term contracts are not the same impediment to player movement as they are in the NFL.ย In order to recruit a top-class player committed to a long-term deal in the NFL, an interested team would have to compensate his current team with some combination of equally-talented players and draft picks.
5. EPL Experiences Limited Financial Regulation
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Traditionally, NFL teams operate under a salary cap which establishes a minimum and maximum amount that teams may invest in player salaries.ย However, the NFL operated without a salary cap this season as a result of the current collective bargaining agreement.ย Nonetheless, as owners and general managers are so accustomed to these strict financial regulations, no team spent exceptionally lavishly this offseason.
On the other hand, English football has traditionally experienced minimal financial regulation.ย As a result, top teams tend to outbid their less wealthy opponents by spending ridiculous amounts of money on player transfer fees and salaries.ย
For instance, Manchester City billionaire oil tycoon Sheik Mansour has paid well over ยฃ100 in transfer fees for six players since June.ย To put this in perspective, the Washington Redskins have the highest payroll of any NFL team at $145 million.ย Considering that the exchange rate of pound to the dollar is about 1.5:1, Mansour has spent more on transfer fees for six players than the wealthiest NFL team pays all of its players.
UEFA, Europeโs football governing body, has recently passed a new โbreak evenโ rule which will ban teams from European competitions if their spending exceeds their revenue (In other words, if they incur debt).ย This rule takes full force in 2014 and should at least somewhat mitigate the advantage afforded to the wealthiest EPL teams.
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