What Would Happen If There Was Relegation From The NFL?

May 24th 2009 saw the last day of the Premier League in English soccer. It's a huge day in the season, and led me to wonder what would happen if relegation was a feature of the mighty NFL - read on to find out more..!

As much as the NFL would like their sport to be a global passion, the fact of the matter is that it isn't.
Yes it's watched in many places around the world, but attempts to grow the sport outside the US have never really taken hold.

One main reason that I can see is that the sport is a franchise business, with every team being a franchise of the main business.
That's just not the way most sports run. With most sports, anyone can start a team, and progress through the ranks and divisions if they are good enough. This isn't the case with the NFL - there is no promotion to a higher league, and similarly there is no relegation to a lower league.

The Premier League in England is currently considered one of, if not *the* best league in the world, and to drop out of it costs a team maybe $100 million dollars in revenue - it's a huge blow to a team, as they must then play the following season in a far inferior league to try and battle their way back.

They have to spend a minimum of one season out of the top flight, and that's assuming they get back at the first attempt! Many teams have found that the culture shock of being in the lower division leaves them ill prepared for the battle.

The last day of the league is therefore filled with emotion from the fans that is hard to replicate in the NFL.
Big teams go down too, no-one is immune!

Can you imagine if there was relegation in the NFL?
Teams like the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins would probably all have suffered from relegation. Supposedly big teams, but they have all had years of bad form which would not see them stay in the top division if relegation was an issue.

It's an interesting concept, and one of the reasons why the NFL will never be a global passion.

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