It doesn't hurt the NFL, it "hurts" other businesses that have paid for Superbowl broadcast rights.
I have an employee who is also a bartender. At their bar, they have food, drinks and Superbowl on large screen for $60 per person.
I don't know how much they pay to be able to broadcast the game. But you must know that the bar would be pissed if a church next door was broadcasting it free with a large sign out front WATCH SUPERBOWL FREE HERE.
That makes sense. In that respect, it does hurt the NFL because it devalues the packages they sell to sports bars. On a slightly philosophical (basically I’m being economically stupid) note, I’m becoming a little disenchanted with the NFL squeezing every last fricking nickel they can out of everyone.
I don't know how much they pay to be able to broadcast the game. But you must know that the bar would be pissed if a church next door was broadcasting it free with a large sign out front WATCH SUPERBOWL FREE HERE.
That's not my problem, is it? The bar can find other ways of drawing people in to their $60 party.