The NFL kicks off its 80th season on Sunday with 15
games on the schedule, including the return of the Browns to
Cleveland, as they host the Steelers on Sunday night on
ESPN. The league extended its blackout deadline in certain
markets, and in Seattle, the Seahawks have until 1:00pm
today to sell out the remaining 3,000 tickets for Sunday's
game (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 9/10). The Rams have a
24-hour extension to sell their remaining 3,500 seats
against the Ravens. The Rams have sold out all 32 of their
regular-season home games since they moved to St. Louis in
'95 (POST-DISPATCH, 9/10). The Colts were also given an
extension (STAR-NEWS, 9/10). Saints fans will not be able
to see the debut of Ricky Williams on local TV, as the game
against the Panthers was blacked out. As of yesterday, the
team had sold 53,415 tickets, short of the team's capacity
of 65,176 (THE DAILY). In Philadelphia, 4,000-5,000 seats
remain for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, meaning the
game will be blacked out locally (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
9/10). CBS Sports President Sean McManus sees no changes on
the NFL's blackout policy, but "there's been some discussion
by the NFL about bringing two games into a home market if
that team is playing at home, and if it's a sellout. I
think it's something we'll continue to talk about with the
NFL" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/10).
GIVING A REST TO LABOR DAY START: In Milwaukee, Tom
Silverstein notes that the league's later start date this
season was done to avoid schedule conflicts with New Year's
Day bowl games. But another reason is that TV ratings are
"not very good" during the Labor Day holiday. NFL Senior
Dir of Broadcast Planning & Scheduling Joe Ferreira: "This
is kind of an experiment to see how we do. The month of
September our ratings are usually lower than the rest of the
season. On Labor Day weekend they're even lower than most
of September." Ferreira estimated ratings are about 10% to
20% lower the first week, largely due to the holiday long
weekend. Silverstein: "NFL and network officials will
compare the ratings from the first week of the season with
those from Labor Day weekend last year and see if there is a
significant difference. If so, a permanent change could be
made" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/10).
WELCOME BACK: USA TODAY runs a special 18-page NFL
supplement in today's issue. NFLP runs a full-page ad
thanking fans and listing its corporate partners (9/10).
NFL TOP BONUS? SI's Peter King writes that Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue has talked to the NFLPA "about setting aside
a percentage of the salary cap to be divvied up the top
performers on each team" at the end of the year due to
concern with "the rapid rise in signing bonuses" (SI, 9/13).