I believe that you have nailed the primary underlying issue.
The NFL and many other historically American sports leagues are no long interested in us, as in USA.
The want a vast international market. And they are obviously shifting focus towards that goal.
It’s the same with soccer in Europe.
Go to a Barcelona FC home game. Odds are half of the fans there are tourists, who can shelve out a couple hundred bucks for the ticket, meanwhile pricing out the locals. They care more about growing the global brand, than they do about the local fans.
It’s the same with Real Madrid, Madrileños now refer to them as the ‘tourist club’, and root for Atletico Madrid instead, even though they are starting to go down the same path.