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Two of the world’s biggest sports leagues, here is the NFL season ticket comparison to the Premier League.
While many soccer fans in England and Wales complain that season ticket prices at Premier League clubs are ridiculously high, the prices seem like bargains when compared to how NFL teams in the United States are fleecing fans.
In a special report by World Soccer Talk, we’ve researched season ticket prices for NFL teams and have compared it against Premier League season ticket prices provided by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sportingintelligence.com/">SportingIntelligence</a>. The differences are eyeopening.
<h3>NFL season ticket comparison to the Premier League</h3>
First, here are the&nbsp;ticket prices in the Premier League&nbsp;for&nbsp;the 2014-15&nbsp;season, which can be seen below.
<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Premier-League-Tix.png"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-115126" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2014/08/Premier-League-Tix-600x396-580x370.webp" alt="Premier League Tix" width="580" height="370"></figure></div></a>
As we can see, rather strangely, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/25/manchester-city-3-1-liverpool-back-to-the-drawing-board-for-the-reds/">Manchester City</a>, the current Premier League champions, have the lowest priced season ticket. Of course City’s wealth courtesy of Sheikh Mansour ensures there isn’t a great need to recoup significant revenue through ticket sales.
If you look to the other end of the scale with Arsene Wenger’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/23/everton-vs-arsenal-player-ratings/">Arsenal</a> side charging just over £1000 for their lowest priced season ticket, the difference is staggering. The general conception is the cost of living in London is much more expensive than in other areas of the country. This can be seen by house prices and is reflected, although not as significant as perhaps necessary in the average person’s working wage.
Therefore it is no surprise Arsenal’s cheapest tickets are the most expensive. However the difference of over £200 from the next most expensive cheapest ticket, which is at Arsenal’s fierce local rivals Tottenham Hotspur is quite interesting.
Arsenal’s business model since 2005 has been focused around financing the move to and construction of the Emirates Stadium as Jeremy Wilson from the Telegraph details <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10601900/Arsenal-have-reached-their-Promised-Land-Why-2014-is-such-a-big-year-for-Arsene-Wenger-and-the-Gunners.html">here</a>. One of the reasons for such high ticket prices has been to contribute to that cause, now with the stadium believed to have been almost, if not fully, paid for, it is a surprise to see Arsenal still charging such high prices.
It is interesting that there is only one Premier League team who have reduced the price of their lowest season ticket from last season, and that is Sunderland who have committed to a 6% decrease.
But how do expensive Premier League season ticket prices compare to the NFL? The differences are staggering.
First, some&nbsp;NFL teams, depending on where the seats are, require the purchase of a Permanent&nbsp;Seat License (PSL), the right to “own” a seat,&nbsp;which can run <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/10/06/fricking-ridiculous-nfl-stadium-seat-fees-cost-thousands-but-fans-pay-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anywhere from $500 to $150,000</a>. That cost doesn’t even include the price of buying a season ticket.
Second, most NFL teams have a waiting list for season tickets. So for most NFL teams, the application fee is&nbsp;$100 per person to be added to the&nbsp;waiting list in order to be notified when a season ticket becomes available. As one example, the waiting list is currently 5-10 years for the Seattle Seahawks football team. That’s nothing compared to the Green Bay Packers, where&nbsp;the <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/114877119.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waiting list is estimated to be as many as 955 years</a>.
Having said that, there are waiting lists for many Premier League clubs too.
Third, while an average match ticket (not season ticket) for a Premier League game is £59 ($91), the average ticket for a NFL game is £52 ($84) (<a href="http://www.statista.com/statistics/193425/average-ticket-price-in-the-nfl-since-2006/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>), which seems quite competitive until you remember that season ticket holders in the Premier League get a minimum of 19 home league games (not including FA Cup matches, League Cup matches, friendlies and possible European competition) while season ticket holders at NFL teams get 8 league games (and some only get 7 games because of NFL games played in London, but exhibition games are sometimes included).
So&nbsp;let’s take a look at&nbsp;the 2014 prices for season tickets at NFL teams:
<ul>
<li>Arizona Cardinals — Cheapest season ticket: $250; Most expensive season ticket: $1,185 (<a href="http://www.azcardinals.com/tickets/seat-views-pricing-map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Atlanta Falcons — Cheapest season ticket: $385; Most expensive season ticket: $1,463 <a href="http://vsv.atlantafalcons.com/seating_pricing.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">or more</a>&nbsp;(<a href="http://vsv.atlantafalcons.com/seating_pricing.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Baltimore Ravens — Cheapest season ticket: $620; Most expensive: $3,650 (<a href="http://www.baltimoreravens.com/gameday/tickets/psls-season-tickets/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Buffalo Bills — Cheapest season ticket: $260; Most expensive season ticket: $2,470 (<a href="http://buffalobills.io-media.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Carolina Panthers — Cheapest season ticket: $420; Most expensive: $4,300 (<a href="http://www.panthers.com/tickets/psl-club-seats.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Chicago Bears — Cheapest season ticket: $810; Most expensive season ticket: $4,050 (<a href="http://www.chicagobears.com/tickets-and-stadium/seating-chart.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Cincinnati Bengals — Cheapest season ticket: $400; Most expensive season ticket: $2,700 (<a href="http://www.bengals.com/tickets/stadium-map-and-ticket-pricing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Cleveland Browns — Cheapest season ticket: $190; Most expensive season ticket: $4,350 (<a href="http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/tickets/2014/season-tickets-find-your-seat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Dallas Cowboys — Price for an average premium seat per season is $3,400 (<a href="https://teammarketing.com/public/uploadedPDFs/FOOTBALL_FCI_TWENTYFOURTEEN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>); Prices for cheapest and most expensive season tickets are not publicly available</li>
<li>Denver Broncos — Cheapest season ticket: $480; Most expensive season ticket: $1,700 (<a href="http://www.denverbroncos.com/tickets-and-stadium/season-tickets.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Detroit Lions — Cheapest season ticket: $380; Most expensive season ticket: $1,092 (<a href="http://www.detroitlions.com/ford-field/seating-chart.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Green Bay Packers — Cheapest season ticket: $770 (approximately); Most expensive season ticket: $1,000; approximately (<a href="http://www.packers.com/tickets/ticket-holder-information.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Houston Texans — Cheapest season ticket: $660; Most expensive season ticket: in excess of $3,000 (<a href="http://www.houstontexans.com/2015waitlist.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Indianapolis Colts — Cheapest season ticket: $400; Most expensive season ticket: $1,260 (<a href="http://www.colts.com/stadium/stadium-map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Jacksonville Jaguars — (Note, this is for a 9 game season this year); Cheapest season ticket: $171; Most expensive: $3,375 (<a href="http://prod.static.jaguars.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/tickets/1407_2014_TicketMap_FINAL_v8.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Kansas City Chiefs — Cheapest season ticket: $250; Most expensive season ticket: $1,350 (<a href="http://kcchiefs.io-media.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Miami Dolphins — Cheapest season ticket: $420; Most expensive season ticket: $1,250 (<a href="http://miamidolphins.io-media.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Minnesota Vikings — Cheapest season ticket: $350; Most expensive season ticket: $1,390 (<a href="http://www.vikings.com/stadium/stadium-map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>New England Patriots — Cheapest season ticket: $650; Most expensive season ticket: $1,950 (<a href="http://www.patriots.com/news/article-1/Patriots-introduce-variable-pricing-for-2014-season-tickets/1371bc29-dbda-4fca-8ebd-d8d743551f92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>New Orleans Saints — Cheapest season ticket: $350; Most expensive season ticket: $3,080 (<a href="http://prod.static.saints.clubs.nfl.com/assets/tickets/14_season_tickets_prices.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>New York Giants — Cheapest season ticket: $850; Most expensive season ticket: $7,000 (<a href="http://prod.static.giants.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/psl-pricing-map.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>New York Jets — Cheapest season ticket: $500; Most expensive: $7,000 (<a href="http://www.newyorkjets.com/tickets-and-stadium/new-stadium/seating-chart.html?icampaign=ticket-info-request_tickets-stadium-landing-find-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Oakland Raiders — (Note, this is for a 9 game season this year); Cheapest season ticket: $225; Most expensive: $1,350 (<a href="http://www.raiders.com/tickets/seating-price-map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Philadelphia Eagles — Cheapest season ticket: $700; Most expensive: $1,050 or more; although exact pricing is not available publicly</li>
<li>Pittsburgh Steelers — Cheapest season ticket: $770; Most expensive: $2,600; based on 2013 prices (<a href="http://www.afansbestfriend.com/seat_license.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>San Diego Chargers — Cheapest season ticket: $390; Most expensive: $2,650&nbsp;(<a href="http://www.chargers.com/tickets/seating-chart.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>San Francisco 49ers — Cheapest season ticket: $850; Most expensive: $2,000 (<a href="http://www.levisstadium.com/club-level-map-pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Seattle Seahawks — Cheapest season ticket: $580; Most expensive season ticket: $4,050 (<a href="http://www.seahawks.com/tickets/seating-map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>St Louis Rams — Cheapest season ticket: $300; Most expensive season ticket: $1,750 (<a href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/tickets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Cheapest season ticket: $300; Most expensive season ticket: $3,950 (<a href="http://prod.static.buccaneers.clubs.nfl.com/assets/pdf/2014-Season-Pass-Members-Pricing-Map.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Tennessee Titans — Cheapest season ticket: $360; Most expensive: $2,580 (<a href="http://www.titansonline.com/stadium/seating-chart.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
<li>Washington Redskins — Cheapest season ticket: $340; Most expensive: $1,390 or more (<a href="http://redskins.io-media.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source</a>)</li>
</ul>
Based on the above information, the average price for the cheapest season tickets across NFL is $463 (not including the price for a PSL), while the average for most expensive season tickets (not including PSL) is $2,668.
The $2,668 number&nbsp;is in stark contrast to the Premier League’s highest average season ticket price of $1,361. And that’s based on 19 Premier League home games compared to 8 (or sometimes 7) home games in NFL.
If we take the 19 guaranteed home league matches for each Premier League club and compare that to the 10 not-guaranteed home games (including 2 preseason games) for each NFL club, the average price per game based on season ticket prices is as follows:
<h5>Cheapest season ticket prices&nbsp;(averaged on a per-league game basis):</h5>
Premier League: $27 per game 
NFL: $46 per game
<h5>Most expensive season ticket prices (averaged on a per-league game basis):</h5>
Premier League: $73 per game 
NFL: $266 per game
Remember&nbsp;that not all season tickets are equal. For example, some season tickets to Premier League clubs will include friendlies, cup games and European competition with them, others don’t. Vice-versa, some season ticket packages for NFL teams will include exhibition games too.
As a side&nbsp;note, NFL teams don’t make it easy to find season ticket pricing. Oftentimes, team websites force website visitors into either calling or completing an application in order to find out pricing details. It took us several days&nbsp;of research, phone calls and patience to compile the season ticket information above for NFL teams. And even then, we were unable to obtain season ticket pricing for a few high-profile NFL teams.
While tickets to Premier League matches in England have increased at a steady pace, they seem like a relative bargain compared to how expensive seats are in the NFL. And that doesn’t take into consideration the cost of Permanent Seat Licenses. Based on the above data, we wouldn’t be surprised if Premier League ticket prices continue to skyrocket year over year.

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NFL season ticket comparison to the Premier League

A point of contention due to finances, here is the NFL season ticket comparison to the Premier League to see how two of the biggest leagues stack up.

NFL season ticket comparison to the Premier League - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://epltalk.com/?attachment_id=50129" rel="attachment wp-att-50129"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-50129" title="nfl-fans" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/nfl-fans.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px"></figure></div></a>
“It’s too boring.” “There’s never any scoring.” “They’re all pansies.” “They’re always rolling around on the ground pretending to be hurt.” These seem to be the standard arguments I get from my American football loving friends and acquaintances whenever soccer is brought up, or showing on TV.
I would say that these could be valid opinions if they were founded on actual observations. Instead they take the stereotypical version of what they believe soccer to be. Any attempts to engage them in conversation on the subject ends with sarcastic comments being made about soccer player’s manhood.
The state of the current Premier League is such that suggesting it is boring means that one, they haven’t actually watched any of it, or two, they don’t understand the game (and perhaps they don’t care to). The EPL is perhaps the most exciting league to watch because of its openness and directness of play, and this season the amount of goals being scored adds to the enjoyment of the league. You could include with this the fact that the middle of the table is fairly evenly matched and there is always excitement in the relegation battle drama.
The EPL has toned down some in terms of its physicality, but it still remains a highly competitive contact sport. The interesting thing is that I have heard many English pundits complaining that the physical aspects of the game have been taken away. This flies in the face of what I have heard American football fans suggesting about soccer. The sport itself is highly physical and players “rolling around” do so for 3 reasons: 1.) They are hurt. 2.) They were fouled and need to get the refs attention about it. 3.) They are cheating.
I will agree with any fan that the cheating part needs to stop and is offensive.
I would posit that most of these people who make such statements about soccer are doing so because they are uninformed. Perhaps they don’t care to be informed, but if this is the case, then I suggest they just stay quiet and stop with their snide comments. While I know many readers on here enjoy American football as well as soccer, I have grown bored with the American sport, which could be due to the amount of flak I get from those around me. I always point out that in soccer the clock does not stop and the action only really stops when there is an injury. In American football, the clock may say that the game lasts 60 minutes but with all of the stoppages in play, expect to spend 2.5 to 3 hours of watching what becomes only about 30 minutes of actual gameplay. At any point in time during an EPL game, something is happening and there is always the possibility of a goal being scored.
I will continue to enjoy my Premier League soccer every weekend and will watch my matches despite the sarcastic comments from friends. I do suggest to these fans of American football that they get involved in supporting soccer now while the sport is still growing in America. Then when the NFL is dying, they can say, “I have always loved the EPL and I have supported [insert team name here] for years.”
Are you a fan of American football and soccer. If so, why? Do you ever hear these arguments aimed at you as a soccer fan? What are some of your “favorite” anti-soccer statements?
Todd Shenk can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.PremierSoccerChat.com/">www.PremierSoccerChat.com</a>.&nbsp;

NFL Fans Hate Soccer But We Don't Care

NFL Fans Hate Soccer But We Don't Care - World Soccer Talk

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Editor’s note: This is part two of a series of articles written by Stephen Lucey. Part one, released earlier this week, focused on whether <a href="http://epltalk.com/can-a-salary-cap-save-the-premier-league-from-itself/16072" target="_blank">a salary cap could save the Premier League from itself</a>. Part two, here, discusses unrestricted free agency and compares the NFL model to the Premier League.
Portsmouth FC are near-mortally crippled by their wage bill, and are left to wander the Arabian deserts with their shower caps extended for oil soaked charity. The Premiership has been seduced by potential riches, and borrowed itself into a black hole filled with bank notes to pay down and creditors to to foil. UEFA’s report released yesterday attributes a 56% controlling majority share of European football’s debt to the Premier League. Obviously, competing in Europe is paramount for English football, but creating a sustainable economic model has to become as important a priority going forward.
Here I’ll acknowledge a concern from some of the previous commenters: Yes, the EPL and NFL are different entities with different structures, competitive factors and concerns, but they are also similar. The Premier League seceded from the Football League in 1992, establishing a corporation with each club holding a vote and equal stake in the partnership, and the NFL functions in much the same fashion. While opinions on revenue sharing in the NFL would vary owner to their contribution, it has been widely acknowledged as their best solution for a financially healthy league.

When the NFL introduced the hard salary cap in 1994, it did so on the back of unrestricted free agency, a policy adopted just a year prior in 1993. After a player had reached four years’ accrued service, he was free to sign with any team at the expiration of his contract. The speculation and anticipation of potential player moves bedded in nicely with the cable sports 24 hours a day news cycle, keeping loud, sometimes punch-drunk ex-players in paychecks, and ensuring interest in the league would only gather steam over the offseason.
An economic success for NFL franchises is the ability of a team to terminate a player’s contract at anytime, based on performance, age, health, or any other reason a millionaire might have to save some scratch. An NFL team can also claim one player with a “franchise” tag, compensating that player with one year’s salary averaged from the Top 5 paid at their position.
The transfer window system unnecessarily forces teams into long-term planning while the nature of sport is in immediacy and reaction. Restricting player movement only ends up restricting the potential quality of play, which is what we, as fans of great competition, should all care about. It is hard to say whose interests are greatly favored by this policy, which makes its skin tight oppression all the more confusing to a neophyte.
The hard cap created a new commodity in the NFL: cap space. Where transfers in the Premier League generally involve cash and credit transactions, NFL franchises value taking a player’s salary off the books when factoring out how older players’ contracts are dealt with. A lot of young NFL players will receive their biggest payday before they’ve entered the prime of their playing career. World football’s balance sheets are plagued with that one last payday for an aging, but perhaps outward star with a haul of credentials.

Is Unrestricted Free Agency a Model that Soccer Should Consider?

Is Unrestricted Free Agency a Model that Soccer Should Consider? - World Soccer Talk

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This week on EPL Talk we’ll bring you exclusive interviews from some of the biggest names in English football such as Andrew Cole and Dwight Yorke, as well as an interview with ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop. Our coverage began last Friday with an exclusive <a href="http://epltalk.com/tommy-smyth-interview-epl-talk-podcast/15781" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">interview with ESPN analyst Tommy Smyth</a>. And it continues today with a glimpse of what it was like to spend five days at sea with Cole, Yorke, Hislop, Smyth and the ESPN crew.
Many of you who read EPL Talk regularly will probably know that I’m no fan of American football. It’s not that I hate the NFL. It’s just that I find it mind numbingly boring, which is only made worse by the multitude of TV commercials that permeate each game.
So when I was approached by ESPN last week to go on a 5-day cruise as part of their “Super Bowl At Sea” viewing party, I was hesitant at first until I learned that the cruise would feature two of the greatest strikers ever to grace the English Premier League, Andrew Cole and Dwight Yorke, as well as ESPN pundits Tommy Smyth and Shaka Hislop. How could I pass up a chance of a lifetime opportunity to interview these players and pundits?
The premise of the cruise was to bring together celebrities from both the American and European codes of football to promote ESPN International’s coverage of the Super Bowl, which was televised live to more than 51 million households in 140 countries and territories throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle Easr, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Rim and much of Europe.
While on the journey, the ESPN crew recorded several reports for SportsCenter and Press Pass to be aired during the week on ESPN in the Pacific Rim and Latin America.
During the cruise, I had the opportunity to spend quite a lot of time with Tommy Smyth, had lunch with Dwight Yorke, talked football with Andrew Cole and Shaka Hislop and got to know the former NFL players pretty well who were also on board such as Rod Coleman, Carl Pickens and Norris McCleary.
Here are the stories from my adventures on the high seas with ESPN, Yorke and Cole:
Driving down the highway on the Thursday afternoon before the Super Bowl, it seemed a little surreal to be passing the Sun Life Stadium, the site of the Super Bowl where the TV signal would be beamed to approximately 93 million people worldwide. It was almost as if I was trying to find a way to get as far away from the stadium as possible to watch the game on television. The stadium is 43 miles from my house. Cozumel, my destination, was 610 miles away.
After setting sail from Miami aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cruise ship, I was immediately surprised at how many vacationers were walking around wearing Arsenal jerseys. In my first hour, I saw three or four. Some of the people wearing the shirts were either ex-pats or people on holiday from England, but one bloke I struck up a conversation with was from Toronto and was a massive Gooner.
That afternoon, I went up to the deck of the ship to meet the ESPN television crew and watched Tommy Smyth record a couple of segments. Wearing a sombrero and holding a pina colada in one hand, Smyth sat down on a deck chair and started talking about the upcoming Super Bowl and the festivities that were happening aboard the ship. No teleprompters, no scripts. Smyth was a natural. He’s a born talker and definitely has the gift of the gab.
As the afternoon rolled into the evening, I was really impressed by Smyth’s work-rate. The Irishman was all over the place. Talking in front of the camera on the deck, signing autographs and shaking hands wherever he walked, and then moving down a few levels in the shop to record another segment, and then later hosting the first of the evening’s shows from the theater on board. The man is a dynamo.
The next day, the Friday before the Super Bowl, I stood in the crowd and watched Smyth host a TV segment which featured the three NFL players to his right, and the three soccer players to his left. It was my first opportunity to see Andrew Cole, Dwight Yorke and Shaka Hislop in person. Smyth was the ideal person to be in the middle of them. Asking questions of the NFL players and getting their insight into the upcoming Super Bowl. And then asking the soccer players about their thoughts on the Super Bowl and soccer-related topics. The most eyeopening discussion for me was Smyth’s questions to both the NFL and soccer athletes when he asked them about what it was really like to be on the field and how much banter players would get into against their opponents.
A theme that arose in the segment that Smyth hosted ran through the entire weekend. And that was the banter between the soccer players and American footballers about which form of football was better. It was all in good taste. But incredibly the banter lasted throughout the weekend from Friday morning all the way through to Sunday night. There was even a scavenger hunt on board the ship the following day pitting “Football Against Football” with teams captained by the soccer players battling against the NFL athletes. But without a doubt, by the time the cruise was over, the NFL athletes had a better appreciation for soccer and the soccer players, and the soccer players and pundits had a better appreciation of NFL. After chatting with McCleary, Coleman and Pickens, I too had a better appreciation for NFL. All three NFL athletes were down-to-earth, well spoken and a pleasure to meet.
The “Football Against Football” theme was a constant throughout the entire weekend in a couple of different ways.
First, whenever there were functions aboard ship such as an opportunity for vacationers to meet and greet the players, the soccer crew were far more in demand than the NFL players. At times, the NFL players hung back in the shadows while the crowds seemed more interested in chatting with the soccer players and pundits.
Second, there was a private function that allowed the crew members to meet both the NFL and soccer stars in one room. ESPN had a box of American footballs and one box of soccer balls. Both were emblazoned with the ESPN logo. And the crew members who walked into the room had a choice of picking either ball and getting it signed by any of the stars in the room. After between 100-200 ecstatic crew members came into the room, the box of soccer balls was soon depleted. But the box of American footballs was nearly empty but still had plenty for crew members to select from, if they wanted. Pretty soon, ESPN had to grab another box of soccer balls.
In that room, it was a very multicultural experience. You had crew members from around the world. There was a soccer fan from the Middle East who asked Shaka Hislop how he could get a visa to become a soccer player in the States. There were plenty of soccer mad fans from Africa and the Caribbean. There were girls from Australia and South Africa, a few Americans and even a lady from Wales, much to my delight. With it being such a multicultural group, it was interesting to see how popular the soccer players were. And yet again, how the NFL athletes drifted into the background but humbly welcomed anyone who approached them for an autograph.
The other constant theme throughout the entire weekend of the cruise was the popularity of Tommy Smyth. More people approached him aboard the ship and in Mexico than Cole, Yorke, Hislop and the NFL athletes combined. There were constantly people coming up to him and introducing themselves and getting their pictures taken with him. Not everyone knew his name, but there were constantly people complementing him and I heard several “Is that Tommy Smyth?!” questions from the crowds I walked through with him. Ever gracious, Smyth took his time and cracked a few jokes and always gave the strangers his full attention.
With Andrew Cole and Dwight Yorke, I had no idea whether they would both be a prima donna or very down to earth. Out of the two, Cole impressed me the most. He was well spoken, very quiet at times but always humble and a perfect English gentleman. In the first couple of days, Yorke was invisible at times. You would see him at the times when he was supposed to be interviewed. But afterwards he drifted away and didn’t seem to hang out with the crew much or participate in all of the activities. As a result, it was harder to get to know Yorke but during the last 24 hours of the cruise, I had the chance to have spend more time with him: at lunch, on the captain’s bridge and during the Super Bowl. As soon as I got to know him better, he opened up more and once you got to know him, he was great.
For both Yorke and Cole, they were able to walk around the cruise ship and stroll down the Promenade without being bothered by the few thousand cruisegoers walking past.
I didn’t get to spend as much time with Shaka Hislop as I would have liked but every time I was near him, he was the perfect gentleman. Jovial, always good natured, he seemed to always be enjoying life and his role as a pundit for ESPN is a perfect role for him after a distinguished career in the Premier League, World Cup and Major League Soccer.
Throughout the weekend, there was plenty of panel discussions among the athletes hosted by Smyth, and joined by Hislop. When the discussions were more NFL-centered, ESPN International side-line commentator Georgina Ruiz-Sandoval joined in.
While aboard the ship I had the chance to watch ESPN International on the TV in my stateroom. The Saturday morning match between Liverpool and Everton was shown live on the channel. The only difference between the broadcast of the match on ESPN International versus ESPN2 was the TV commercials. Instead of the typical Axe and armed forces commercials, ESPN International showed promos for their upcoming programs. Two, in particular, got my notice. The first was one for Serie A, which is shown by ESPN outside the United States. And the second one was for a program called The Legends Of Cricket, which featured lots of black-and-white archived footage.
The final two stories I want to share with you from the cruise are about Tommy Smyth and the climax of the cruise which was the Super Bowl.
I heard a surreal story from Smyth, which was confirmed by an ESPN employee, that Tommy Smyth is big in Nigeria. Yes, Nigeria. So big in fact that Smyth sometimes receives e-mails from the defense minister of Nigeria commentating on his tactical analysis. And most of the fan mail that Smyth gets is from Nigeria. He’s so big in Nigeria that football supporters there often pass around bootlegs of Smyth’s work throughout the country.
All of the events from the weekend culminated in the big game, the Super Bowl. Sitting in a theater that was converted from an ice skating rink to a viewing party, all of the ESPN crew and athletes were present as we sat down to watch the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts. In the first half of the game, it was very one-sided and looked like it was going to be a blow out win for the Colts when they were 10-0 ahead.
During breaks in the game, and there were plenty of them, I had a couple of conversations with Cole and asked him what he thought. His reaction was that he couldn’t believe how many TV breaks there were in the game. For someone who is so used to an almost fluid 90 minutes of non-stop action in soccer, except for half time, the degree to which TV controls American football instead of American football controlling TV is hard to believe. Sure, the TV commercials are often more appealing to many viewers than the actual game itself, but since we were watching the ESPN International feed, there were no commercials. So the game seemed to drag on even more than usual.
Luckily, the Super Bowl came to life in the second half and it ended up being pretty exciting especially since the underdog won. As soon as the game ended, the ESPN crew and athletes moved outside the theater and began singing “When The Saints Go Marching In,” including Yorke who was in a party mood.
The five day cruise opened my eyes to ESPN International’s TV coverage around the world. And as Tommy Smyth said to me, he’s commentating just as many Champions League games as he was before but the only difference is that the games aren’t shown on ESPN in the United States any more. It was a pleasure to get to know ESPN better, and they were the perfect hosts. It was also a honor to meet Cole, Yorke, Hislop, Smyth and the NFL athletes. But the star for me that long Super Bowl weekend wasn’t a New Orleans Saints player. It was Tommy Smyth.

Adventures On The High Seas With ESPN, Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole

Adventures On The High Seas With ESPN, Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole - World Soccer Talk

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/West-Ham.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2015/02/West-Ham-600x414-600x414.webp" alt="West Ham" width="600" height="414" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-128932" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>
In a refreshing change of events, former Birmingham City owners, David Gold and David Sullivan took control of the Hammers and admitted straightaway the mess that West Ham United have been battling with. Since the crashing collapse of the Icelandic banking system, West Ham had been financially stricken and the true extent of the footballing debt is now apparent. The Hammers owe £110 million out. One Hundred and Ten Million pounds.
Only in November did C.B. Holdings claim that the Hammers were in debt to the tune of £38 million, misleading the fans in to thinking that the situation was nowhere near as bad as some in the media had reported. In fact it was almost 3 times as bad as they made out and the new owners/controllers made clear exactly where they debts lay. They also confirmed that the club were going to have to sell players in this transfer window, contrary to the clubs previous stance. An immediate cash injection of £8 million was needed to keep the club going.

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The list reads like a what not to do in football, or to put it another way, how to run a club like Leeds United. It’s as if someone wrote a business plan based on what went wrong at Elland Road and it was mistranslated into Icelandic to make it seem positive. It’s madness to see the debt and borrowing going on at West Ham over the last 3 years.
<ul>
<li>£50 million owed to banks.</li>
<li>£40 million owed to other clubs for transfers.</li>
<li>The £40 million owed to other clubs, includes £20 million compensation to Sheffield United.</li>
<li>Alan Curbishley is still owed his severance deal after winning his case for constructive dismissal</li>
<li>No-one owes West Ham any money, all player transfer fees that were received paid the bank debt immediately</li>
<li>C.B. Holdings had borrowed money against the next two seasons season ticket revenue</li>
<li>There is no money for strengthening the squad.</li>
</ul>
Now this paints a completely different figure to what the West Ham fans believed, rightly or wrongly what the were being told. The previous regime were filling there heads with nonsense. It is a very real prospect that relegation would have seen West Ham implode financially. No ifs, no buts, they were immediately into administration. After all the information about Leeds United, C.B. Holdings were following exactly the same route.
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It seems like absolute madness that not one lesson from the Yorkshire clubs demise has served to teach anyone anything it seems, as we see with the issues at Manchester United, Portsmouth and Liverpool in the last week. Regardless of the riches awash for the Premiership clubs, you still have to cut your cloth accordingly. Someone sooner or later is going to fall over the edge, which is a subject I’m going to be looking at in more depth for EPLtalk.com next week.
Gold and Sullivan have acted quickly in bringing in their trusted lieutenant, Karen Brady as vice chairman and she’ll be quick to install some much needed pragmatism at Upton Park. They are now going to talk to Newham council about moving to <a href="http://www.london2012.com/" target="_blank">the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics</a>. That could be&nbsp; a challenge as Tottenham enquired about taking it over and were plainly told it was not available. The Olympic stadium is set to be reduced from its 80,000 capacity down to a pointless 30,000, for which there is neither the use nor the need.
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The NFL could still play a part in the stadium’s future use that could play into West Ham’s hands. The NFL have earmarked that the often mooted London franchise’s potential base could be there. It would certainly make more sense to use it as a dual sport stadium than a white elephant for athletics, which is the current plan. There is neither the inclination or support for that size of athletics venue in London, they should sell it and use the money to redevelop Crystal Palace Athletic Stadium.
So now, West Ham have to focus on the future and the fans will be thankful that regardless of the criticisms that could be placed at Gold and Sullivan’s door during their tenure at Birmingham City, they still have a club to support. The work is now on to bring in fresh investment to try and work off the remaining debt and crucial to that is the fact that West Ham United need to stay up.
Gianfranco Zola has been nothing but a gentlemen throughout this difficult period for him and he needs to make sure that he can keep his side together for one almighty relegation scrap. For a first job, he has certainly been earning his money, of that there is no doubt. In the next six games, West Ham face Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Birmingham City and Hull City. Come the end of February, Gold, Sullivan and Zola will know exactly the size of the task to keep West Ham United in the Premier League.

Breaking News: Gold And Sullivan Reveal West Ham's True Debt

Breaking News: Gold And Sullivan Reveal West Ham's True Debt - World Soccer Talk

The United Soccer Leagues has been a doormat to the MLS for too long.&nbsp; They have allowed MLS to walk all over them.&nbsp; MLS has taken multiple cities from the USL to put into their league and have not suffered any kind of legal troubles or image issues.&nbsp;
This has been a coup for MLS.&nbsp; They have done&nbsp;the deed&nbsp;without having to put forth the effort normally associated with bringing along brand new franchises.&nbsp;
But, without any formal partnership, who is really at fault?&nbsp;
The USL has a flawed business model, and&nbsp;the future for its First Division&nbsp;franchises are all in jeopardy.&nbsp; Anytime a&nbsp;First Division&nbsp;franchise shows promise, its immediate goal becomes how to make MLS.&nbsp; Even as new franchises come on board with USL, such as the Austin Aztex or others, it is easily apparent that with the right moves, MLS is not too far away.&nbsp;
History shows that the USL should compete directly against MLS.&nbsp; In both the history of football and basketball in the U.S., leagues have merged&nbsp;and absorbed each other.&nbsp;
In football, the American Football League (AFL), consisting of teams such as the&nbsp;Kansas City Chiefs,&nbsp;New York Jets, and Oakland Raiders, merged with teams from the NFL, which consisted of teams such as the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.&nbsp; In basketball, teams from the American Basketball Association were absorbed by the NBA after an agreement of merger.&nbsp;
Perhaps the USL’s future will be to be bought up by MLS to be a ‘minor leagues’ of sort.&nbsp; But, the USL should consider that MLS is susceptible and it is possible that the USL could be the dominant league at some point in time in the future.&nbsp;
As the USL sets its course for its future, with foundation at the youth and community levels as its bases, it should be more bold with its professional teams and not take for granted that MLS must be the ‘dominant’ league and the USL only a ‘funnel’ league.
The USL should approach an outsider cable television station like VERSUS to broadcast games on a regularly marketed basis.&nbsp; It needs to bring its league closer to the American audience so that it can promote its&nbsp;Second Division teams sooner and form a more broad First Division.&nbsp; A team in Charleston or Rochester is impressive with its own kind of marketing potential.&nbsp; A league with many teams from cities or areas of 300,000- 500,000 or more people&nbsp;can also&nbsp;provide tons of soccer excitement.&nbsp;

USL Should Compete Directly against MLS

USL Should Compete Directly against MLS - World Soccer Talk

In order for Soccer to&nbsp;make it to&nbsp;the U.S. sports fan’s main menu, it must play a schedule that has both sense and purpose.&nbsp; An American professional soccer league must begin play every year&nbsp;1-2&nbsp;weeks before the Major League baseball season begins and it must end its regular season 3 weeks before the start of the NFL season.&nbsp;
A professional league must make every attempt to take advantage of the U.S. sports calendar so that soccer can get the limelight needed to reach diehard U.S. sports fans.&nbsp; Every ounce of sports spectating in America, including awards shows, is scheduled&nbsp;to a specific time in the year in order&nbsp;to gain a place within the public’s eye.&nbsp;&nbsp;
When there is a hole or dip in the sports schedule, like the MLB all-star game, soccer must&nbsp;fill the&nbsp;spot in a big way.&nbsp; This year and in past years,&nbsp;professional soccer&nbsp;has not scheduled games on baseball’s all-star break.&nbsp; This is an error in judgement from those who are the decision makers for professional soccer.&nbsp; Professional soccer should always try&nbsp;to maximize its exposure in&nbsp;the sports spectator calendar, especially on days when no other major U.S. sports are being played.&nbsp;
There are few holes left in the sports calendar, but tradition doesn’t need holes in schedules.&nbsp; Tradition can bring&nbsp;professional soccer&nbsp;to its&nbsp;rightful place on the U.S.&nbsp;sports calendar.&nbsp; Tradition should be that&nbsp;professional soccer always stays one step ahead of both baseball and footfall.&nbsp; Placing its regular season&nbsp;on the U.S. sports calendar for the months of March, April, May, June, and July,&nbsp;with its playoffs in August, will stabilize and solidify professional soccer’s niche in the sports spectator marketplace.
Professional soccer in the U.S. from March to August should build towards a 40-50 regular game season.&nbsp; The schedule must find consistency from year to year and only allow interference from the most reputable tournaments(i.e. USOC, CCL).&nbsp; Clarity in the schedule&nbsp;and more games means more opportunities for pro soccer to make a lasting impact with U.S. sports fans.
The perfect start to the 2009 season would be the first day of spring, Monday, March 23rd.&nbsp; Monday Night Futbol would be the perfect anecdote to keep the fans&nbsp;engaged and enthused over a 20-week professional soccer schedule.&nbsp;
The schedule should permit for play Thursdays through Mondays.&nbsp; Friday nights will see a&nbsp;heavy schedule.&nbsp; Saturdays will see a&nbsp;heavy schedule for day and night, while Sunday will see a&nbsp;heavy&nbsp;schedule for day and late afternoons.&nbsp; Monday and Thursday nights will see a lighter schedule.&nbsp;
Teams should prepare to travel for 2-3 game sets (against the same team) over a&nbsp;3 to 5 day period, similar to professional baseball.&nbsp; There should be games to view&nbsp;on television from Thursdays through Mondays all over the country.
Scheduling is the most critical element to ensuring that soccer gains the most exposure possible.&nbsp; Groups of games must start one after another.&nbsp; By staggering the start times, fans watching on television, should be able to see games in a consecutive manner.&nbsp; Start times need to be prepared long in advance.

Americanizing Soccer for the U.S. Sports Fan pt. 2

Americanizing Soccer for the U.S. Sports Fan pt. 2 - World Soccer Talk

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You may have missed an article by Oliver Kay in The Times this past weekend that featured a very revealing interview with Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook regarding the future of the Premier League. The headline perfectly sums up Kay’s article: “<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article4592939.ece" target="_blank">Vision Of A Breakaway League With No Relegation</a>.”
Here are the revealing quotes followed by my opinion:
<ol>
<li>“I wouldn’t have promotion and relegation. That’s what central entity is, like the NFL in American football. Once you get central entity, you basically share the wealth.” — What? Promotion are relegation are two of the reasons why the Premier League is so much more attractive to global viewers compared with the NFL. We’ve heard the Premier League mention this idea before, but the reaction from the paying public would be totally against it.</li>
<li>“If you want to become a multi-multibillion-pound empire, you may have to look at changing the model.” — ‘May have to look at changing the model’ is business talk for ‘Definitely will change the model.’ Be forewarned.</li>
<li>“I talk to Richard Scudamore about this all the time: ‘Are we maximising the central entity of the Premier League?’ And he rolls his eyes and says: ‘If only, if only we could, if only we would.&apos;” — Quite a revealing statement from Cook that gives us a peek inside Scudamore’s thought process.</li>
<li>“We’re getting into a situation where there are maybe ten clubs. Do Saudi Arabians want to buy – and no disrespect to these clubs – Stoke City or Derby County? Or do they want to buy Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Manchester City?” — So, let me get this straight. The end goal is to sell all of these major clubs to the Middle East? Could D.I.C. be the first?</li>
</ol>
While the NFL is what the Premier League wants to be, especially in terms of their TV revenue, the biggest mistake the EPL could make is by creating a central entity. It’s the promotion and relegation which adds so much excitement and drama to the league.
If they Premier League did move to a central entity, a closed league, who would the 14 teams be?
<ol>
<li>Manchester United</li>
<li>Chelsea</li>
<li>Arsenal</li>
<li>Liverpool</li>
<li>Aston Villa</li>
<li>Portsmouth</li>
<li>Tottenham Hotspur</li>
<li>Everton</li>
<li>Manchester City</li>
<li>Newcastle United</li>
<li>West Ham United</li>
<li>Sunderland</li>
<li>Middlesbrough</li>
<li>Blackburn Rovers</li>
</ol>
The teams that are currently in the Premier League who would not be included in the central entity, I believe are:
<ol>
<li>Fulham</li>
<li>Stoke City</li>
<li>West Bromwich Albion</li>
<li>Hull City</li>
<li>Wigan Athletic</li>
<li>Bolton Wanderers</li>
</ol>
Fulham would not be included due to the small capacity of their stadium. There’s little to no chance of the club leaving Craven Cottage. Wigan’s average attendance is the worst in the league, while I don’t see Bolton remaining in the Premier League much longer based on their current form.
The advantage of a central entity is that the league can have all 14 clubs working together and sharing the TV revenue to build the Premier League brand worldwide. The other advantage is that it would ensure club owners that their football team would continue to generate massive amounts of revenue each year rather than having to worry about the threat of dropping down a division due to relegation.
But by closing the doors on the league, it would break the hearts of the fans of other clubs hoping to be promoted into the top league. Massive clubs such as Leeds United, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and others would be refused the opportunity to see their club regain greatness.
And plucky clubs such as Reading would be prevented from reaching the upper echelons of English football.
Sure, the NFL generates more revenue than the Premier League does right now but that doesn’t mean that the Premier League has to imitate the American football league to achieve success.
What do you think? Share your feedback via the comments link below.

Premier League Wants To Be The NFL

Premier League Wants To Be The NFL - World Soccer Talk

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