The professional sports landscape has undergone a dramatic shift in the last decade making sports leagues of today fundamentally different from those of the past. The teams remain the same and the players, while different, are still the best at their respective crafts. Changes instead have hit the playoff structure (NFL & NCAAF) or different types of regular season games (NBA). Social media and streaming have also influenced sports for the better in that they allow for more opinions on the state of the leagues and have brought sports to the masses in different ways. For example, the series Formula 1: Drive to Survive has not only increased F1’s popularity, it has also spurred similar in-season “documentaries” in other sports. Netflix has since released Quarterback and Tour de France: Unchained. These initiatives are working, as Lebron James even wants in and plans to make an NBA docuseries focused on a few specific players. Finally, advancements in the fields of medicine, sports science, and analytics have all shaped the way players recover for games and the way teams are constructed.
Let’s start with football. In the NFL, teams now play an 18-week schedule and there are seven playoff teams in each conference (previously there were six teams). For the fans, this is almost like a dream come true. What rational football fan doesn’t want more football? It’s a fair point. On the other side of the coin, the former 17-week schedule was already exhausting for the players. Many have opposed an extra week of games because it increases the potential for injury and because of the pay structure with an additional game. Perhaps this explains why scoring is down on the season, offenses are quieter than in years past, and blowouts are becoming a mainstay on Sundays. More football is great, but at what point is it not great if the quality of the games is rapidly deteriorating? There isn’t a definitive answer to that question. A more cynical sports fan may point to the league’s desire for more TV revenue by increasing the number of regular season and playoff games. Not all change has dampened competition. With seven teams in the playoffs, the one-seed, which grants teams a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, is more important than it’s ever been. Teams are now incentivized to give it their all in the regular season knowing what is at stake in January/February.
In college football, the last decade has been the decade of the college football playoff. Previously, the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) used computer algorithms to rank teams and determine bowl matchups and the national championship. In 2014, the four-team playoff format was introduced. It is difficult to say whether the playoff has been a success. Admission into the playoff is determined by a committee that pits teams’ resumes against each other to ultimately decide who the best four teams are. Semi-final matchups between the #4 & #1 seeds and the #3 & #2 seeds determine who will meet in the national championship game. The most controversial part of the playoff committee is that the human element opens the door for error. These rankings are subjective, though facts (ex. Quality wins, bad losses, “the eye test,” etc.) play a key role. Typically by conference championship week, only five to eight teams have a real chance at the playoff. Media headlines and talking heads get millions of eyeballs for their respective opinions on who should make the college football playoff. To be expected, those on the outside looking in often feel “robbed” or “slighted.” This year, it will be Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama in the playoff, with Florida State being the odd man out. Beginning next season, the playoff will expand to 12 teams. Fans are excited about this because their teams now have a better chance of making the playoffs. Fans opposed to expansion cite that admitting new teams into the playoffs does not drastically change a team’s national title prospects. If winning national championships is your team’s goal, then the odds have not increased much. Additionally, anger for fanbases of teams that just barely missed the playoff will persist, only this time it will be seeds 13-15 pleading their case rather than seeds five and six. Finally, conference realignment has made the landscape of college football unrecognizable. Beginning next season, Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA will play in the Big Ten. Stanford and UC Berkeley will now be members of the ACC (the Atlantic Coast Conference). The Pac-12 will only have two teams remaining. Texas and Oklahoma, perennial winners of the Big-12, will have more to play for in the SEC. Many schools have entered contracts to uphold rivalry games in the future, preserving bits of nostalgia that fans love (ex. Oregon/Oregon State and Washington/Washington State). Like many of the changes I have already mentioned, this too does not have a 100% approval rating.
Source: CBS Sports
The last league with major changes is the NBA. The biggest change to the 2023-24 season has been the inaugural “In-Season Tournament,” where teams are assigned to one of six groups and play games in group play (akin to the World Cup for soccer). After group play, teams advance to the knockout stage until a champion is crowned, and each player on the winning team will receive $500,000. While some players make far more than this, this money goes a long way for fringe rotation players and two-way contract players. In this year’s tournament, both the usual suspects (ex. Bucks and Celtics) and new kids on the block (Pacers and Kings) have made a name for themselves. Games for the IST are regular season games, so teams will still finish the regular season having played 82 games. Other reasons for the popularity of the IST are the custom courts and jerseys for each team. Many of the jerseys and courts are bold, in your face, and sometimes do not even resemble the traditional logo and color scheme of a team. Ironically, this has helped the NBA – many viral social media posts displaying what can only be described as hideous jerseys have helped increase viewership. Members of the NBA media were skeptical of the IST because players’ interest in the regular season has decreased in the last several years. Stars frequently rested on the second night of back-to-backs and sat out an exorbitant number of games. This became known as “load management.” The IST has proven to be successful for one main reason – people are talking about the NBA before Christmas. Competing with the NFL and college football has been incredibly challenging in the last several years, so this newfound popularity is crucial for the Association. The winner of the In-Season Tournament will be crowned on December 9th.
I wanted to highlight the many ways our sports leagues are rapidly changing and will let you decide whether or not these changes are good or bad. It’s not a secret that on a personal level, people typically do not like change. But in the world of sports, our hands are tied. We as fans must embrace change, like it or not.
Source: NBA on X
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