NFL needs to consider relagation and two-tiered system

[Iggloo]

The NFL is not really a competitive league anymore despite many efforts aimed at creating a level playing field. It's time for radical measures. It's time...to send the Bears and some other franchises down to the minors for a while. I speak of...relegation.

You have a clear divergence between teams like the Bears and Browns, who are seemingly incapable of fielding a competitive team under the salary cap and drafting responsibly, and teams like the Chiefs and Ravens and Niners and Eagles, who seem to know how to compete year in and year out. The draft and salary cap are intended to be protections against any team becoming too strong, but they don't account for sheer incompetence, and the league's revenue sharing means even total losers make a ton of money. Something has to change.

I propose a system of major and minor leagues, similar to what they do in soccer. The teams that finish at the bottom of the major league are relegated to the minors, and the ones that finish at the top of the minors are elevated to the majors.

 

[Think McFly Think]

Maybe if there were teams that were 0-17 for consecutive seasons, even the bottom tier teams have wins.

 

[DHoey]

San Francisco has made the playoffs 4 times in the last 10 years. Cleveland twice. Bears twice.

I would argue the NFL is the most competitive major sports league.

 

[PDay8810]

San Francisco has made the playoffs 4 times in the last 10 years. Cleveland twice. Bears twice.

I would argue the NFL is the most competitive major sports league.

but this does not fit the OP"s agenda.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Cleveland just made the playoffs last year. The Brown only have 3 wins, two against playoff teams.

This is an overreaction to a couple bad Christmas games, a holiday that they forced on NFL players. It is a NBA holiday, stick to Thanksgiving. This is an unusual year where you have 5 teams with 3 losses or less but there are 9 teams within 2 games-7 to 9 wins. KC has been in so many close games.

It seems like the league has been the opposite.Very competitive but the better team squeaking out a lot of these victories. Detroit has been the most dominant team this year

 

[dtgold88]

The NFL is not really a competitive league anymore despite many efforts aimed at creating a level playing field. It's time for radical measures. It's time...to send the Bears and some other franchises down to the minors for a while. I speak of...relegation.

You have a clear divergence between teams like the Bears and Browns, who are seemingly incapable of fielding a competitive team under the salary cap and drafting responsibly, and teams like the Chiefs and Ravens and Niners and Eagles, who seem to know how to compete year in and year out. The draft and salary cap are intended to be protections against any team becoming too strong, but they don't account for sheer incompetence, and the league's revenue sharing means even total losers make a ton of money. Something has to change.

I propose a system of major and minor leagues, similar to what they do in soccer. The teams that finish at the bottom of the major league are relegated to the minors, and the ones that finish at the top of the minors are elevated to the majors.

cool story. But if you really wanted to do this the Jets are the far better team to relegate down than the Browns and Bears. And, hell, until a season or 2 ago so were the Lions.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

The NFL is not really a competitive league anymore despite many efforts aimed at creating a level playing field. It's time for radical measures. It's time...to send the Bears and some other franchises down to the minors for a while. I speak of...relegation.

You have a clear divergence between teams like the Bears and Browns, who are seemingly incapable of fielding a competitive team under the salary cap and drafting responsibly, and teams like the Chiefs and Ravens and Niners and Eagles, who seem to know how to compete year in and year out. The draft and salary cap are intended to be protections against any team becoming too strong, but they don't account for sheer incompetence, and the league's revenue sharing means even total losers make a ton of money. Something has to change.

I propose a system of major and minor leagues, similar to what they do in soccer. The teams that finish at the bottom of the major league are relegated to the minors, and the ones that finish at the top of the minors are elevated to the majors.

The Browns literally just made the playoffs last year.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

0.0% a meritocratic relegation system happens. It would relegate both New York teams.

 

[dtgold88]

The Browns literally just made the playoffs last year.

I mean, if he wants this system the Jets were the clear team to use/mention. Hell, until a couple years ago so were the Lions.

sure, from 1999-2017 we'd have spent many years "down there".

 

[Stakesarehigh]

Additionally OP doesnt seem to understand how soccer relegation works, these are not "minor leagues" in the English league as an example. There is no way to make that work in the NFL model.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

1. Not one team owner would vote for this.

2. You would need to build a bunch of franchises from scratch, even if you you maybe bought the UFL.

3. You would have to completely redo the draft favoring teams that probably won’t be in the premier league for a few years. That means the elite prospects won’t be sharpening their skills against the best, building an image for the fans, or contributing to the star power to attract fandom.

4. The relegated teams would bleed talent making them inept to compete in the top league when they get promoted. It would probably just become a cycle of the same teams getting promoted then relegated in consecutive seasons on repeat.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea, but it’s just not even half way practical. Football is a game where you need the biggest guys to play. The teams in the relegation league wouldn’t be able to get the big guys, so they will just get stampeded everytime they play a team up.

If you want competition, get rid of revenue sharing and let teams fail.

 

[Think McFly Think]

Additionally OP doesnt seem to understand how soccer relegation works, these are not "minor leagues" in the English league as an example. There is no way to make that work in the NFL model.

I mean this had to be tongue-in-cheek, I really didn’t know how to respond.

 

[Think McFly Think]

1. Not one team owner would vote for this.

2. You would need to build a bunch of franchises from scratch, even if you you maybe bought the UFL.

3. You would have to completely redo the draft favoring teams that probably won’t be in the premier league for a few years. That means the elite prospects won’t be sharpening their skills against the best, building an image for the fans, or contributing to the star power to attract fandom.

4. The relegated teams would bleed talent making them inept to compete in the top league when they get promoted. It would probably just become a cycle of the same teams getting promoted then relegated in consecutive seasons on repeat.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea, but it’s just not even half way practical. Football is a game where you need the biggest guys to play. The teams in the relegation league wouldn’t be able to get the big guys, so they will just get stampeded everytime they play a team up.

If you want competition, get rid of revenue sharing and let teams fail.

1 can really stop the argument there, your other points are good too though.

 

[Iggloo]

Maybe the Browns were a bad example because of their recent, Joe Flacco induced spell of competence. But my point stands, bad teams should be relegated to a lower division. The Browns could have been relegated several times over in recent decades. Same with the Commanders before Dan Snyder sold them.

 

[packerzrule]

What makes teams consistently competitive is drafting and coaching. EOT

 

[Iggloo]

What makes teams consistently competitive is drafting and coaching. EOT

I would say it is ownership. That is what makes the biggest difference.

 

[packerzrule]

I would say it is ownership. That is what makes the biggest difference.

Hmmmmm. Was there a sudden change of ownership within the Ford family the last 3 years?

 

[Iggloo]

Hmmmmm. Was there a sudden change of ownership within the Ford family the last 3 years?

None of these rules ever apply consitently, but if you have a Woody Johnson type of owner, or a Danny Snyder type of owner, you really have zero shot to compete.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

ill be contrarian and agree with the OP... at least sort of...

football has 2 conferences... and there is nothing that separates the conferences... there is not difference in play or anything... just the way it always was...

if you want to relegate, you can easily make one conference the "good" conference...

what if, we do a 2 conferences... we have 14 playoff teams like we do now... but 8 playoff teams come from the better conference and 6 come from the weaker one...

the top 2(the 2 teams with byes) both come from the better conference)...

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

When a team is shitty, fans shouldn’t go to the games, watch the games, buy their apparel, etc. if they do, then they are enriching the owners who don’t give a shit they are ruining the team. That’s why fair weather fans and bandwagon fans have always been drastically more intelligent than the diehards. The diehards are the reason their team sucks.