From an ESPN Lenny P column
Although it isn't likely that World Bowl XI on Saturday will be the last title game for the NFL Europe League, the future of the springtime loop is clearly uncertain, and there are some NFL owners ready to seriously consider pulling the plug. The owners invest about $25 million-$27 million annually in NFLE and, with its audience stagnant both in the stadiums and in the television ratings, there is real debate about how to proceed beyond this season.
Exacerbating the situation is that NFL Europe is not really the feeder system, the developmental league, that owners envisioned it as being. Most of the teams now allocate players who typically comprise the bottom 10 performers on a roster and the league isn't developing even third-string quarterbacks the way it once did.
At the recent league owners meeting in Philadelphia, commissioner Paul Tagliabue acknowledged that NFL Europe is undergoing close scrutiny, and that all sorts of possibilities are now under consideration. A few owners, though, are leaning toward ending the experiment. "We're pouring cement down an endless hole," said one NFC owner. "Some of us have pretty much had it (with NFL Europe)." The fate of the European league could be decided in mid-September when NFL owners are scheduled to consider their options.
Although it isn't likely that World Bowl XI on Saturday will be the last title game for the NFL Europe League, the future of the springtime loop is clearly uncertain, and there are some NFL owners ready to seriously consider pulling the plug. The owners invest about $25 million-$27 million annually in NFLE and, with its audience stagnant both in the stadiums and in the television ratings, there is real debate about how to proceed beyond this season.
Exacerbating the situation is that NFL Europe is not really the feeder system, the developmental league, that owners envisioned it as being. Most of the teams now allocate players who typically comprise the bottom 10 performers on a roster and the league isn't developing even third-string quarterbacks the way it once did.
At the recent league owners meeting in Philadelphia, commissioner Paul Tagliabue acknowledged that NFL Europe is undergoing close scrutiny, and that all sorts of possibilities are now under consideration. A few owners, though, are leaning toward ending the experiment. "We're pouring cement down an endless hole," said one NFC owner. "Some of us have pretty much had it (with NFL Europe)." The fate of the European league could be decided in mid-September when NFL owners are scheduled to consider their options.
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