As NFL owners are gathering in Orlando to count their money and plan on how to make more, one of their NBA counterparts is firing a warning shot.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told reporters tonight that the NFL is bordering on over-saturation of the market, with dire consequences.
“I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion,” Cuban said, via Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “I’m just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy. Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way.
“I’m just telling you, when you’ve got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That’s rule number one of business.”
Cuban was speaking specifically of the NFL’s expanded television package, which will put NFL games on CBS this fall on Thursdays, with the games being simulcast on the NFL Network.
“They’re trying to take over every night of TV,” Cuban said. “Initially, it’ll be, ‘Yeah, they’re the biggest-rating thing that there is.’ OK, Thursday, that’s great, regardless of whether it impacts [the NBA] during that period when we cross over. Then if it gets Saturday, now you’re impacting colleges. Now it’s on four days a week. ...
“It’s all football. At some point, the people get sick of it.”
So far, there is no indication of that, as the league has shown its greatest ability is to make money. This week’s discussion of expanding the playoff field is another step toward expanding potential broadcast revenue.
And while there’s an element of sour grapes in Cuban’s comments, he’s also a smart enough businessman to make it worth considering.
