NFL camps open. Split between rank-and-file and NFLPA leadership?
Deion wants salary cap. R.I.P. Lee Elia. NCAA tourney expansion tabled
Good morning, all! I hope your Friday is a good one!
You read the headline correctly. The Los Angeles Chargers kick off the NFL season on Saturday, when their rookie camp opens. More rookie camps open next week, and in less than two weeks rookies and veterans will be in camp. MLB has yet to play its All-Star game, we have not reached mid-July and already the focus is on the NFL. The world’s most popular sports league, in reality, never ends its season, constantly in the news 24/7 year ‘round.
Baseball fans in particular get upset, when this topic is broached but the reality is there is the NFL, college football and every other sport. If you don’t believe it, look at the ratings. A prime time, regular season college football game will do better in the TV ratings than a World Series game. And as for the NFL? Forget it. The second game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader will best most World Series telecasts. That’s just the way it is.
America loves its football, no matter how much baseball sells itself as the National Pastime. There is no reason why you cannot enjoy both sports. Just understand, even though MLB has yet to play its All-Star game, already the focus is on the NFL and for that matter the NBA Summer League. We now live in a hybrid sports world, where seasons never end. Don’t expect things to change.
Meanwhile, an interesting sidebar will be the skirmish. between the NFL and NFLPA. In case you missed it, a story broke earlier this week that the players’ leadership kept from the rank-and-file a story that the NFL conspired to keep guaranteed salaries down. An arbitrator ruled back in February that there was not enough evidence to accuse the owners of collusion but that the players produced enough evidence to indicate something was up. Say what? I know the story is convoluted so here is the link.
Now that the story has gone viral, the players have insisted that its leadership appeal the arbitrator’s verdict, after the NFLPA initially accepted the decision. You won’t get an argument from me, if this story becomes even bigger before the season opener. You also won’t get an argument from me, if you said Roger Goodell, the long time commissioner, who was a lock to get another contract extension, is made the fall guy in all of this. Keep an eye on this story. It is not going away.
Here are some other DAN ON SPORTS links to top stories for Friday, July 11, 2025:
Former manager Lee Elia dies
Popular NBA coach and GM, Frank Layden passes away
Deion: College football should have salary cap
Upset at Wimbledon
No decision on expanding NCAA hoops tournament. Proposals tabled
DeChambeau ready to use AI
Tigers have more all-stars than Dodgers
Amazon’s NBA broadcast crew set
Champion Thunder open up wallets
R.I.P. Joe Coleman. He grew up in greater Boston, went to Ted Williams’s baseball camp in Lakeville, MA and later pitched for Williams, when he managed the Washington Senators.
Thank you for subscribing and have a terrific day!
DAN