[Dr. Sivana]

The NFL really shoots themselves in the foot sometimes.

Its goal, making money, is not necessary the same as our goal, seeing great football. The whole real free agency and salary cap was pretty much imposed on them, so they changed the product to keep more fans engaged.

[Alberta's Child]

Even on the financial front they didn't do themselves any favors. At one time Monday Night Football was a huge windfall for the NFL. They scheduled one game each week for a national TV audience, matching up two of the top teams in the league. There were some legendary games that attracted huge TV audiences over the years.

That doesn't really work in the era of the salary cap and free agency. The problem was that the NFL scheduled these games in advance based on how the teams finished in the prior season's standings. They had to change that whole system because nowadays there's no continuity from one season to the next. I think back to the Monday Night Football game on the opening weekend of the 1987, which matched up the previous two Super Bowl champions (the Giants and the Bears). If you scheduled that game this year, you'd have the Giants and Ravens on the field in a game that wouldn't be much of a game at all.