The NFL has entered a phase of expansion, where its leadership is determined to spread the market to destinations deemed unreachable just 10 years ago. The highest-grossing revenue league has cemented its gritty and purely American presence in settings across the globe. Becoming more worldwide than ever before and with the 2025 Super Bowl in the books, the league trails in building an effective player development model. Many teams feel burdened to fast-track their own rebuilding process, leaving a scarcity of “complete” teams league-wide.
Carefully calculated player development is what builds quality talent, regardless of sport. Fans desire a complete product, mistake-free and charming to the human eye. It is why the five teams (the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills, the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions) with no flaws on both sides of the ball retain a lion’s share of the viewership. They have become a pipeline for head coaches in struggling organizations over the past five years where impatient owners put pressure on new head coaches to turn the organization around in just two to three years.
Nowhere more can we see this rushed talent development than at quarterback, marked by waning levels of quality and organizational failures. Only 46% of first-round quarterbacks have “hit” and become the type fans walk through the turnstiles to see in the flesh.
So what do all these teams with “home run” quality quarterback skills have in common? A front office paired with a coaching staff who are jointly invested in improving the organization for years to come. Take the Lions in 2021, who hired a passionate Dan Campbell to a six-year deal at a time when most head coaches are out the door in a mere two years. While they certainly gambled on Jared Goff but clearly scored on Amon-Ra St. Brown, their record in 2021 was a meager 3–13–1, a number sending most impatient owners into a coma. They recorded their first win on Dec. 5, 2024. Absolutely no one outside that organization could imagine them putting that Gelo on after clinching the No. 1 seed this January.
While we still have plenty of owners obsessing over Madden ratings, defending sun glare and burning through countless head coaches, some are starting to follow the winning formula. We are already starting to see the foundations of this being built in Houston with the hiring of DeMeco Ryans. Yes, good players give validity to head coaches and the organization, but a team’s product stems from the coaches’ ability to make the right decision, motivate and develop talented players into world-class professionals.
I avoid discussing officiating in any league, but the NFL has reached an all-time low with officiating quality. Roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness penalties are seemingly given out left and right. Although these rules are in place to protect player safety, they could make players less cognizant of their long-term health. Tom Brady, who I, as a New York Jets fan, have as much respect for as a bag of chips, believes these rules lead offensive players to make poor decisions about their long-term health in the league. Offensive players and head coaches are not acting in the best interest of long-term development, pushing their boundaries and relying on the referees to bail them out when they place themselves into harmful situations.
Don’t get me wrong, the NFL is more than entertaining. In the wise words of a good friend, I cherish every opportunity to watch the Jets’ Sauce Gardner take the field each Sunday, win or lose. The game is intense and the rush of adrenaline in those one-score game, two-minute drill fourth-quarter drives for six is what brings me and many other delusional fans back every week with the hopes that one day our team will make the playoffs and reach the promised land.
