The NFL is far and away the most popular sport in America. More than that, it’s probably the most popular form of entertainment compared to anything else that is televised in the country. But if there’s one things NFL fans are not fond of, it’s the overwhelming amount of commercials that take place any given Sunday.
We know give or take when commercials will happen – changes of possession, timeouts, injuries, and sometimes during replay reviews. During one of those replay reviews on Saturday in the Colts-Steelers game, NFL Network announcer Rich Eisen even acknowledged that the NFL wanted to get a commercial break in during one of those replays.
It had appeared the Colts defense had forced a fumble, but the ruling was that the Steelers runner was down on the play. As replays showed that it was indeed a fumble, Eisen interjected that bills had to be paid while fans were held in suspense over what the replay decision would be.
"Well, the [NFL] wants us to go (commercial) break instead of showing you what's going on. So, we'll talk about it when we come back instead." – Rich Eisen on NFL Network 🏈📺🎙️ pic.twitter.com/ojBnE1hz2R
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 16, 2023
There was a hint of disenchantment in Eisen’s voice as he led the audience to the commercial break, but if the NFL knows how to do anything well, it’s maximizing the amount of time you have to keep your eyes on the product. If the league can drag out the NFL Draft for multiple days in primetime and turn its own schedule release into a made-for-TV event, then it can definitely allow a few minutes for a replay decision to hang in the balance.
But for all of our sakes, the NFL makes so many billions of dollars as it is, can we just have a few less commercials during the game? Please?
