Football games in general are taking WAY too long. I attended a 4-hour college football game earlier this season, no overtime. 4 hours! That’s excruciating when you’re there in person, just sitting there watching incomplete pass after incomplete pass with reviews and commercial breaks in between.
Baseball figured this out and made painful but necessary changes. Football needs to do the same.
It will never happen.
While I agree with you, it's intentional with the NFL, and even college football. Its main focus is the TV market and advertisers/sponsors. The ability to show replays, direct plays and have more commercials is the engine that drives the NFL. It is the sport that is best suited to TV, and frankly, been adapted to make it more entertaining on TV. The ability to watch it in a crowded sports bar and no miss anything as you are chatting with a friend or eating a plate of nachos. The ability go to the fridge for a drink an not miss anything, etc....etc...
about 1/3rd of revenue in MLB is gate revenue (3.4B / 11B).
In the NFL, with far fewer games, about 14% of the total ~$21B in revenue is gate revenue and it's pretty static. The quickly growing revenue stream is TV deals, streaming, sponsorships and unfortunately, gambling.
The NFL (and NCAA) doesn't really care about hurrying up a game. You get 8 home games in a year as a ticket holder. They care about the TV viewing experience way more than the in person viewing experience. And when they get you to come in person, they want you staying longer and spending more while you are there.
