Sports Online

Pat McAfee Calls Roger Goodell ‘Bush League’ Over Touchback Proposal

“This is a bullshit commissioner move.”

Published

11 months ago

May 24, 2023

The NFL has adopted the NCAA rules for touchbacks and fair catches on kickoffs, and former NFL special teams legend Pat McAfee isn’t a fan in the slightest of the changes.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied team owners this week to vote again on the rule changes, which would bring the ball on any fair catch or touchback on kicking plays out to the 25 yard line.

On his show Tuesday, McAfee called the efforts by Goodell “bush league.”

“Hey Rog, come on. You’re my commissioner. You’re our commissioner,” he said Tuesday on his YouTube show. “This is a bullshit commissioner move.”

Pat pointed out that for a good majority of the time, the new rule won’t have much of a bearing on games, as most kickoffs nowadays result in a touchback. But McAfee added that there’s a good chance this is going to come back to bite the league a little bit because it eliminates an element of strategy in the game.

“But at some game where it’s gonna be windy and cold, and games are gonna matter, this is gonna happen,” he said. “And everybody watching is gonna go, ‘This is the most bullshit thing I’ve ever seen in a professional football game.'”

Part of the rationale of the decision to make the rule change is to help prevent any future litigation from former players against the NFL for long-term effects of head injuries. McAfee said it was evident that was the main reason.

You're taking away a MASSIVE part of the game #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Esk5345bXa
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 23, 2023

“It’s all just covering your ass for future problems,” he said. “I would like to see these stats that they keep saying are so prevalent and endearing to saving lives and brains that the kickoff and the punt are the only two that it happens.”

“We can’t just make the game so f–king fake and bullshit that it kind of disrepects the league as a whole,” McAfee added. “It’s always like a protect the shield thing.”

Pat went on to say that his success as a punter and kicker has contributed to the evolution of special teams play in the NFL. He really doesn’t like the fact that the changes ultimately makes special teams less valuable to the game.

“It’s a real f–king play, though,” he said. “And there’s real strategy and there’s real things to be gained from that.”

“You’re just taking away another chess move, and I don’t understand why you would want to dumb the game down,” McAfee added.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

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Sports Online

Amazon Prime Video Reportedly Set to Land NBA Package

The expectation is that new NBA media rights deals will be for a 10-year period.

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

BSM Staff

Logos for Amazon Prime Video and the NBA

After a report earlier today from John Ourand of Puck said ESPN and the NBA “have essentially come to terms on a package,” a new report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand says Amazon Prime Video will be one of at least three main players in the overall NBA media rights package.

Marchand reports the NBA and Amazon “have the framework of a deal,” and that it will include “significant regular season and postseason games, perhaps even conference finals.” With the current agreement expiring after next season, it is expected the Amazon deal would start in 2025-26.

Ourand’s reporting suggests Warner Bros. Discovery has had “productive” talks with the league. Marchand mentions NBC and WBD potentially battling to be the third partner or the potential of the NBA partnering with four outlets. It is believed ESPN will have around 20 regular season games cut from its package to make room for at least an additional partner, but Disney will keep the NBA Finals on ABC.

The expectation is that new NBA media rights deals will be for a 10-year period. The league is looking to grow on the $2.6 billion average per year it is getting now from ESPN and TNT Sports.

BSM Staff

Sports Online

Peacock Revenue Increases 54% Year Over Year in 1st Quarter

Comcast’s Peacock added 3 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, which was helped by the exclusive airing of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game.

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

BSM Staff

Comcast’s Peacock added 3 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, which was helped by the exclusive airing of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game, the company said in its earnings report this week. The report also said revenue increased 54% year over year from $685 million to $1.1 billion. In total, Peacock lost $639 million compared to a loss of $704 million the prior year.

“Peacock remains one of the fastest growing domestic streamers with impressive acquisition, retention and engagement trends,” Chief Executive Brian Roberts said in a release.

In total, Peacock subscribers have climbed 55% year over year to reach 34 million. While domestic advertising revenue was flat, the expectation is the upcoming Paris Olympics will boost the advertising dollars for the year.

The Chiefs-Dolphins game on Saturday January 15 was the most streamed event ever in the United States, drawing 23 million viewers. Engagement with the playoff game accounted for the largest internet event in history, according to this data, with 30% of internet traffic prioritizing the game.

BSM Staff

Sports Online

Sports Podcast Festival Coming to Raleigh in August

“What we did was look for shows that had significant audience crossover with one another. I truly don’t think we could have asked for a better lineup in year one.”

Published

3 days ago

April 25, 2024

BSM Staff

The first podcast festival in America devoted solely to sports content is coming to Raleigh, North Carolina on August 24, 2024. Produced by September Creative, The Sports Podcast Festival Presented by Breeze Thru will feature three shows.

Popular national shows The Shutdown Fullcast and Hand in the Dirt will join one of North Carolina’s fastest-growing shows, Ovies & Giglio, live on stage to celebrate a new college football season.

“Shows like the three that will be on our stage are why sports fans flock to podcasts,” said September Creative founder Demetri Ravanos. “They deserve their own party and we’re going to throw it! What we did was look for shows that had significant audience crossover with one another. I truly don’t think we could have asked for a better lineup in year one.”

The Sports Podcast Festival will take place at the recently refurbished Rialto Theater.

“Working with Demetri to bring The Sports Podcast Festival here is perfectly in line with our vision,” said Rialto Theater owner Hayes Permar. “We can’t wait to build and grow this into an incredible annual event. But most importantly, we have a bunch of really cool people from the sports world coming and also Joe Ovies.”

Joe Ovies is one half of Ovies & Giglio, which will open The Sports Podcast Festival. He and partner Joe Giglio left Raleigh radio last year and launched their podcast which has already reached nearly 2 million people.

Next in the lineup for The Sports Podcast Festival is Hand in the Dirt. The hosts, Michael Felder, Michael Surber, and Stephen Hartzell, describe their show as a “gardening podcast about football,” which mixes talk about being a dad and owning a home with serious college football conversation.

Headlining The Sports Podcast Festival is The Shutdown Fullcast. Billing itself as “the internet’s only college football podcast,” the show, hosted by Holly Anderson, Spencer Hall, Jason Kirk, and Ryan Nanni, garners millions of downloads each year.

Tickets for The Sports Podcast Festival go on sale on Saturday, May 25 via eTix. For more information, including announcements about other events surrounding the festival, follow @SportsPodFest on Instagram and X.

BSM Staff