Last year the NFL gave out over $226 million to each of the 32 teams before they sold a single ticket -- thanks mainly to the $7 billion a year the league collects from its TV partners.
A quick look at the post popular sports programs in the 10th largest TV market shows how those numbers got that big, and there is little inclination to think it will stop growing.
David Barron covers sports media for the Houston Chronicle and Thursday he came out with the list of the 100 most-watched sports programs in 2015.