The National Football League’s disastrous 2017 season concluded Sunday night; with television ratings dropping to an eight-year low after months of player protests took its toll on furious fans across the country.
According to Deadline Hollywood, the national anger over professional athletes “taking a knee” during the performance of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ continued into this weekend’s highly anticipated match-up between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles; two highly competitive US sports markets.
“Sunday’s Super Bowl LII also saw a decline of 5% in metered market results from the last time NBC had the big game back on February 1, 2015 when the Patriots faced off against then champs the Seattle Seahawks. Overall, last night’s game peaked in the high stakes fourth quarter with 52.2/74,” writes Deadline.
“All in all, Super Bowl LII is currently the lowest rated since Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 when the New Orleans Saints thrashed the Indianapolis Colts on CBS,” the site adds.
The NFL’s 2017 season was marred with scandals and controversies after protesting players routinely kneeled during the US national anthem. The President weighed-in on the issue last year, calling for a national boycott until officials banned political demonstrations on the field.