With a long history and a very changed format, football plays an important role in the U.S. in many ways. From its humble beginnings as a physical outlet for college students to the financial titan that it is now, football has altered itself and society through economic, educational, racial, and political factors. To observe this, it is best to take a look at the current National Football League (NFL) system and how it became the most profitable sports league in the U.S.
The NFL changed the sporting economy as well as the general entertainment industry in a way that cannot be understated. The company generates over a billion dollars annually, not exclusively from ticket sales but due to a system of business methods. Because each event can cost over 200 million dollars, it is essential for the company to turn a profit (Ali, 2019). This is done through television broadcasting, fantasy football, partnerships, merchandise sales, and a myriad of other business incentives. All these factors affect society from an economic standpoint. Due to the expansion of the NFL into most media and even non-sport product sales, they have been seen by most people living in America. Even non-fans are subjected to NFL-related content while fans are encouraged to spend on their interests and favorite teams. The process also results in more infrastructure building and the creation of jobs.
Due to the size of the industry, profit and incentive for the competition are very high. This allows many teams, companies, and other involved parties to spend their capital where they see fit. This often results in scholarships, university spots, and other education-centered assistance being offered to students that are successful in sports. Because of the industry’s size, such scholarships have become incredibly common over the last decades and a sort of a staple of most colleges. In such a competitive and rewarding field, every college and football team aims to perform better and to become successful but stable.
Football also has a societal history of both incredible cases of racial disparity and discrimination and opposition to racism. The Los Angeles Ram became the first NFL team to integrate black players with Kenny Washington, and Woody Strode in the 1940s (“Black History, and American Professional Football, a story”, 2021). The journey towards full integration of professional football would take decades and be very tumultuous and troubling. However, by the 1970s, black players would finally emerge and be acknowledges as tops stars in the NFL, with the 1980s leading the way with black players gaining positions they were previously discouraged from (“Black History, and American Professional Football, a story”, 2021). Due to these successes, football slowly emerged as a game possible to anyone, completely irrelevant of race. Racism was not eradicated from the sport to this day, with heavy criticism coming from fans, managers, and other speakers targeting non-white players in some cases. Nevertheless, the policy progress made to create equality and opportunity for all still impacted society in a massive way.
For some time, football was considered apolitical, though that is not very true. Like most entertainment or industries in a country, football can reflect and become a platform for personal or communal values, beliefs, and politics. Football has changed many aspects of people’s lives significantly, but it also became changed itself through the values of people living in the U.S. The economic, educational, racial, societal, and political factors that that football used to impact society were also influential in the way the game exists in the current day.
Works Cited
“Black History, and American Professional Football, a story”. African American Registry, 2021, Web.
Ali, Mazin. “How American Football Affects the Economy.” CyberBrooks, 2019, Web.