Those seeking reasons behind Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week taking harder-line stances toward player anthem protests might look at branding data coming back the league’s way.
While ticket prices to games remain relatively unchanged overall, there is mounting evidence the league’s brand is taking a significant hit. According to Morning Consult branding intelligence data, published last week in The New York Times, the NFL is now one of the most “polarizing’’ brands in the nation — right up there with Trump Hotels, CNN, NBC News and Fox News.
That’s not where any sports league aspires to be, given how their fan bases tend to run the gamut of the entire political spectrum.