All those oaths to "never watch the NFL again" proved to be short-lived. Once the national anthem controversy went away television ratings jumped five percent in 2018.
Former Houston Texan - now SportsTalk 790 host - ND Kalu says the NFL is almost too big to fail:
You talk about the five-percent increase, it just goes to show that it's such a great sport, the athletes are so spectacular, that it's hard to stay away from."
He says the NFL's demise was greatly exaggerated, adding it's unlikely competing leagues like the AAF and XFL have much of a chance.
"Maybe there will be a small segment who likes to see hard hits, who likes to see football played the way we're used to seeing it; they'll gain some fans there. But I don't think there's any football league that can compete with the NFL."
One thing Kalu doesn't like is new rules protecting quarterbacks.