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Fewer kids are playing tackle football. Could flag be the future for the NFL?

Jan 12, 2024
The risk of brain injury weighs on participation. Sports writer Dave Sheinin says there’s logic in an eventual move to a safer game.
With youth participation in tackle football dropping, flag football presents a new opportunity.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Nielsen's agreement to use Amazon viewer data in football ratings is a first

Aug 24, 2023
Streaming services changed the way people watched TV. Now they're changing the way ratings agencies like Nielsen count viewers.
As streaming becomes an increasingly popular way to watch shows like "Thursday Night Football," it's changing the way ratings data is collected and shared with advertisers.
Cooper Neill/Getty Images

How the Puppy Bowl became a marketing juggernaut in its own right

Feb 10, 2023
The hotly anticipated canine sporting event, which runs counter to the Super Bowl, will return for its 19th year this Sunday.
Josh Allenhound, who comes from Buddy’s Second Chance Rescue in New York, will compete this Sunday on Team Fluff.
Elias Weiss Friedman/Animal Planet/Discovery +

Pay to play: More HBCUs are being paid to take on powerhouse football teams

Oct 12, 2022
Some see this as a long-overdue opportunity. But are historically Black colleges and universities being paid enough?
The FAMU Marching 100 performs at the school's game against Chapel Hill on Aug. 27.
Mitchell Northam

How a professional women’s football league broke barriers

Dec 3, 2021
"Hail Mary" tells the story of the pioneering National Women’s Football League, which found it hard to compete for attention with men’s sports.
The National Women’s Football League started in 1974 and folded in 1988. Above, a scene from a game between the Dallas Bluebonnets and the Los Angeles Dandelions.
Photo provided by Joyce Johnson of the L.A. Dandelions

Amazon bets a billion a year that NFL's "Thursday Night Football" will draw customers

Mar 19, 2021
The games themselves might never be profitable, but the Prime members they draw probably will be.
Amazon's NFL deal may expand the ranks of Prime members. Experts also say the online giant has room to up its streaming game.
Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Football teams rethink stadium design to adjust for COVID

Oct 6, 2020
Architecture firms that specialize in stadium design are being asked to make changes to help fans maintain social distancing.
Todd Olszewski/Getty Images

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Small towns brace for altered college football schedules

Aug 6, 2020
Business owners in Maryville, Missouri, and Baldwin City, Kansas, say college athletics help their bottom lines.
A Northwest Missouri State University football game in 2019 with a large crowd of spectators.
Greg Echlin

After Kobe Bryant's death, advertisers take stock of their Super Bowl campaigns

Brands are gearing up for their Super Bowl advertising campaigns, but in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death, some are changing their approach.
A moment of silence in memory of NBA great Kobe Bryant takes place during Super Bowl Opening Night presented by BOLT24 at Marlins Park on Jan. 27, 2020 in Miami, Florida.
Rob Carr/Getty Images

This NFL exec wants to “normalize women in football”

Nov 20, 2019
Sam Rapoport is trying to make careers in football more accessible to anybody who loves the sport.
Sam Rapoport, senior director of diversity and inclusion at the NFL is trying to grease the pipeline for women who want careers in football.
Eric Espino/NFL