Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)

Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)

by Mike Florio
Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)

Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)

by Mike Florio

Hardcover

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Overview

The story of a modern NFL that can’t get out of its own way—and can’t stop making money

In recent decades, the NFL has simultaneously become an athletic, financial, and cultural powerhouse—and a League that can’t seem to go more than a few weeks without a scandal. Whether it’s about domestic violence, performance-enhancing drugs, racism, or head trauma, the NFL always seems to be in some kind of trouble. Yet no matter the drama, the TV networks keep showing games, the revenue keeps rising, and the viewers keep tuning in.

How can a sports league—or any organization—operate this way? Why do the negative stories keep happening, and why don’t they ever seem to affect the bottom line? In this wide-ranging book, Mike Florio takes readers from the boardroom to the locker room, from draft day to the Super Bowl, answering these questions and more, and showing what really goes on in the sport that America can’t seem to quit.

Known for his constant stream of new information and incisive commentary, Florio delivers again in this book. With new insights and reporting on scandals past and present, this book will be the talk of the League—whether the League likes it or not.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781541700185
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Publication date: 03/15/2022
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 309,681
Product dimensions: 9.30(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Mike Florio is the creator and owner, in partnership with NBC Sports, of ProFootballTalk.com, one of the leading NFL news organizations in America. He co-hosts PFT Live a daily weekday show that streams on Peacock TV. During the NFL season, he also appears weekly on the Sunday Night Football broadcast. With regular appearances on national and local sports radio programs around the country, and more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter, Florio is among the most prominent football commentators working.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I The Draft

Tom Brady Proves the Draft Is an Inexact Science 9

At Its Core, the Draft Is Anti-American 12

The Draft Is the Safest Place to Find a Franchise Quarterback 15

The Predraft Process Focuses on All the Wrong Things 18

Draft Picks Have Incredible Value to Teams-before They're Used 21

The Temptation to Tank Is Real 24

The Commissioner's Conundrum 27

The Draft Becomes an Accidental Road Show 30

Owners Often Get Involved without Getting Involved 33

There's a Huge Benefit to Discretion 36

Part II Free Agency

Free Agency Rarely Makes a Huge Difference for Any Team 41

The Franchise Tag Hurts Players More Than Fans Realize 44

Thanks to Free Agency, Players Often Can't Stay Put 47

Players Should Be Celebrated for Trying to Get More 50

The Albert Haynesworth Debacle 54

Running Backs Aren't Valued, and for Good Reason 57

Peyton Manning's Foray into Free Agency 60

Kirk Cousins Cracks the Franchise-Tag Code 63

Le'Veon Bell's Lost Season 66

Tom Brady Leaves Town after Twenty Years 69

Part III Quarterbacks

The Death of Johnny Unitas 75

The Rise of Mike Vick 77

Aaron Rodgers Sits for Three Years 80

The Brett Favre Retirement Odyssey 83

The Donovan McNabb Trade 86

Ben Roethlisberger's Redemption 89

Tebowmania 92

Andrew Luck Retires 95

The College Offense Revolution 98

Patrick Mahomes Changes Everything 101

The Quarterback Takeover 104

Part IV Coaches

The Jon Gruden Trade 111

The Rooney Rule 115

The Randy Ratio 118

Nick Saban 121

The Peter Principle, on Repeat 124

The Resentment of Bill Belichick 127

The Unreality of the NFL's Reality Show 130

Jim Harbaugh vs. Jim Schwartz 133

The Near Trade of Jim Harbaugh 136

Another Generation of Belichicks 138

Matt Rhule Blows the Salary Curve (and It Doesn't Matter) 140

Part V Owners

The Hiring of Matt Millen 145

The Commissioner 148

Daniel Snyder 151

The Lockout 154

The Misadventures of Jimmy Haslam 157

The Suspension of Jim Irsay 160

Jerry Jones vs. Roger Goodell 163

Robert Kraft Wins One for the Little Guy 166

The Green Bay Dynamic 169

The Rise of Analytics 172

Part VI Health and Safety

The Death of Korey Stringer 177

The Roy Williams Rule 180

Chris Simms Nearly Dies on the Field 185

The Concussion Epiphany 186

Defenseless Receivers 190

The Concussion Lawsuits 194

The Minimization of the Kickoff 197

Lowering the Helmet 200

The Pro Bowl 203

The In-Game Concussion Conundrum 206

The Pandemic 209

Part VII Off-Field Player Misconduct

The Whizzinator 215

The Love Boat 218

Reggie Bush 221

Pacman Jones 224

Mike Vick 227

Plaxico Burress 230

Brett Favre 233

Aaron Hernandez 236

Ray Rice 239

Ezekiel Elliott 242

Antonio Brown 245

Deshaun Watson 249

Part VIII Major Scandals

The Janet Jackson Incident 255

Spygate I 259

Spygate II 262

Bountygate 265

Bullygate 268

Michael Sam 271

Deflategate 274

Colin Kaepernick 279

Jerry Richardson 283

Spygate III 286

Jon Gruden and the WFT Emails 289

Part IX Officiating

Replay Review 297

The Tuck Rule 300

Super Bowl XL 303

Scott Green's Irrelevant (Not Really) Mistake 306

The Santonio Holmes Missed Call 309

The Fail Mary 312

The Index Card Incident 316

The Catch Rule 319

The Rams-Saints Debacle 322

The Worst Rule in Football 325

Part X The Future

The Proliferation of Sports Betting 331

The Injury Report 334

The Tim Donaghy Dynamic 338

Sky Judge 341

Protecting Inside Information 344

The Playoff Seeding Formula 347

Expansion 350

The Best Approach to Overtime 353

Protecting the Mental Health of Players 357

Global Domination 360

Corporate Ownership 363

Alternative Leagues 366

Acknowledgments 369

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