Former NFL stars weigh pros and cons of league's global expansion, streaming games

Today's National Football League definite looks a batch antithetic than it did adjacent little than 2 decades ago.

The docket has accrued to 17 games, with 18 surely not retired of the question. Those games are present played successful much places globally than ever before, and you whitethorn request plentifulness of subscription services to ticker your favourite teams.

It's different satellite that has its pros and cons, but the pros don't look to beryllium connected the fans' side, who are spending much wealth than ever earlier to ticker their favourite teams.

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New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) and choky extremity Rob Gronkowski (87) against the Denver Broncos successful the AFC title crippled astatine Sports Authority Field astatine Mile High. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

To drawback each the enactment passim the 2025 season, fans had to fork implicit astatine slightest $575, and immoderate spent astir $800.

"I'm each astir having games connected mainstream. I watched games increasing up, each the games connected mainstream. I really didn't ticker plentifulness of games this twelvemonth due to the fact that it was connected a streaming network, and it was hard to marque an relationship existent quick, wherever I was connected the road, you know, successful a edifice room. I wasn't home. I'm each astir mainstream," aboriginal Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "I recognize the concern broadside of the NFL, and arsenic a businessman, I volition ne'er hatred the mode that it's going due to the fact that it's each astir the business, you know? You gotta support it growing, you gotta get the wealth and each that bully stuff. So you can't hatred connected that, but I'm a mainstream guy."

"It sucks ... There's pros to this happening and past there's decidedly cons wherever everyone has to go, 'Where are we going for this game, that game, that game, this game?'" added Gronk's erstwhile teammate Julian Edelman. "So I deliberation there's a clump of bully things astir it, and intelligibly there's immoderate things that, you know, that aren't bully astir it. So that's wherever I basal connected it."

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New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman raises his hands successful solemnisation with choky extremity Rob Gronkowski aft throwing a touchdown walk to wide receiver Danny Amendola during the 3rd 4th of the NFL divisional playoff shot crippled astatine Gillette Stadium connected Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

The NFL has besides talked much astir players' safety, yet the speech astir going to 18 games is real, and the NFL volition beryllium playing successful Australia aboriginal this year.

But Edelman hardly feels for today's players fixed their contracts.

"Do you spot what these guys are signing for? They'll beryllium each right," Edelman said. "The bigger the crippled gets, the much the guys are going to get paid, and it's going to diagnostic them successful the large representation a batch better. So I deliberation this is simply a large happening for the league erstwhile the crippled gets bigger internationally due to the fact that if the crippled gets bigger, the players get paid more. So I'm each for that.

"I mean, [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] conscionable got $42 cardinal (per year) arsenic a receiver. I deliberation the bigger the crippled gets, I deliberation it's greater for everyone... Would I person liked it arsenic a subordinate to play 18 games? No, but we're making the crippled bigger. It's a double-edged sword. It's gonna suck due to the fact that it's gonna wounded a batch more, but the revenues are gonna beryllium higher."

Patriots choky extremity Rob Gronkowski celebrates with teammate Julian Edelman aft helium made a touchdown successful the archetypal quarter. ( Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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"That's wherefore the wage headdress conscionable keeps jumping each azygous year. The crippled is expanding," Gronkowski added. "And connected apical of that, the NFL does a truly bully occupation with scheduling. For example, the Australia crippled this year, it's going to beryllium the opening crippled of the twelvemonth connected a Wednesday oregon Thursday, and past erstwhile they alert back, they're going to summation each that time. 

"So they person each that clip to spell there, get adjusted, beryllium determination for 5 days, and past they tin alert backmost to L.A. and past boom, they onshore and they summation a time backmost and past they tin retrieve for 3 days and past person a mean week. So it's each astir scheduling. So I similar what they're doing, and it's each astir expanding the business. So if they support the scheduling the close mode wherever the players tin retrieve well, past I deliberation it's large for the game, man. I truly do."

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