SI:Excitement abounds for future of NFL, but dark clouds still loom

Ludacris · Sep 10, 2009

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/09/09/future/

Excerpts
The Game

On the field, as the game continues to evolve, we'll continue seeing more shotgun formations and fewer pure huddles.
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Behind the Scenes

In the coming years look for more teams to generate the inside information themselves. Take a look at one of the most legendary soccer franchises, the Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League. For about $65 a year, the team's "e-season ticket" provides Internet access to exclusive content, interviews with players and coaching staff, and full highlights and replays of every game.

Beyond that, you can be sure the league is measuring how to best
monetize the growth industry of fantasy football. Imagine a small charge for access to a video package full of isolation shots on each of your players:

Also on the way: 3-D technology will within a few years make its debut on HD game telecasts.

Added access can even be seen in stadium design. At the new Cowboys Stadium, players take the field by passing through a club in the midst of the team's field-level suites. After the game, the same club affords a view -- through a floor-to-ceiling window -- into the team's interview room, so suiteholders can eat their grilled chicken while watching players and coaches getting grilled by the media.
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The Season

The 18-game schedule has the obvious appeal that it would allow the NFL to command more money from fans and networks, and move two of the loathed preseason games to the regular season.

But they're coming, because owners need to expand the game. The two extra weeks would slot well into the calendar, pushing the league championship games into the February sweeps period, and placing the Super Bowl on Presidents' Day weekend.
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All of the above is moot if there's a work stoppage. What's truly scary to many football people, myself included, is that both sides are already digging in for 2011, virtually conceding that there will be no deal by March 1. That would mean no salary cap in the 2010 season, sending both players and owners into uncharted territory. Both sides sound confident about what would happen in a capless year, but neither is truly sure of the implications.
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