As the curtain closes on January and the first Sunday in February arrives it is time to get excited for the most viewed television program in the world, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl reels in millions of viewers and millions of dollars in commercial revenue. Yet the rest of the NFL season can’t say the same.

It is true that the NFL regular season used to be a magnet for sports fans across the country with great players and fantastic teams. Lately, the NFL has seen a drastic drop in viewership across it’s 256 regular season games and it’s 10 playoff games as well. Now all of the sudden people are not watching America’s Game.

One thing the NFL does wrong that other sports leagues do right is highlighting their players. One league that does this amazingly well in this aspect is the NBA. Thanks to the NBA’s ability to put their players on a pedestal we have various product lines and movies and other mediums thanks to these players. Remember the Brady 2’s? Those are some cool shoes, right? Well of course not they don’t exist, simply because the NFL does not let players shine in the spotlight.

Players like Michael Jordan have put out shoe lines that people wear to this day and has even been in a movie with Bugs Bunny. When could an NFL player star in a movie like Space Jam?

NFL did have players that seemed to be in the spotlight. How about Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens? These two were known for their antics once they reached the end zone giving audiences a touchdown dance performance worthy for Step Up. The NFL was swift in putting an end to their show-stopping dances by implementing an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty and a hefty fine for when touchdown dances get too animated. Now sure Cam Newton has his dab and Odell Beckham Jr has those crisp moves but nothing that would make those players recognizable outside of the football world. Also, the NFL does have the Pro Bowl but lets face it the Pro Bowl is nowhere as big as NBA’s All-Star Game which comes along with a dunk contest and a three-pointer contest.

One thing that could also be leading to a drop in viewers is the fact that so many teams are having drama with relocations. Already the San Diego Charger have moved to be just the second team in Los Angeles alongside the Los Angeles Rams. Let’s face it relocations suck. Fans in respective cities are getting their teams ripped from them and then they are thrown into cities where the fans couldn’t care less about the new team. This drama can result in fans being rubbed off in the wrong direction meaning fewer ratings for the NFL.

The last reason that the NFL can’t seem to get new viewer is because of the New England Patriots. The Patriots have been in the AFC Championship game 9 times since Tom Brady took over in Foxborough in 2001. This level of predictability makes watching each season a bore especially to the mild fan who watches the game not as a fan of a certain team but as a fan who is a fan of the game. There is a saying amongst AFC teams that says “All roads go through Foxborough” and that road is tired and boring. Hopefully, the NFL can chalk up some way to be able to gain back its viewers and be back on top of the on top of the sporting world.