Troy Aikman Says NFL Will No Longer Be No. 1

Former NFL all-star and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said that the NFL will not always be the top sport in America.

Aikman said that the NFL, as an organization, has made several mistakes while attempting to promote the league and will alienate fans. For starters, Aikman said there are too many games scheduled for too many days of the week.

At one time, watching football was an event, said Aikman, according to the Inquisitr. Monday Night Football was a big event. Now you get football Sunday, you get it Monday, you get it Thursday and, late in the year, you get it on Saturday.

Another faux pas by the league that Aikman cited is the NFL hosting their games on NFL Network. Most people do not have that station, yet, Aikman said. He believes the leauue will lose viewers if it keeps promoting the station.

People couldn't get [the NFL channel] in the homes and, all of sudden, fans, me included, were saying, 'I wasn't getting the Thursday night game and I was OK with that.' That's not a good thing.

These missteps will hurt the NFL. Unfortunately, Aikman said this could happen sooner rather than later.

I believe, and this is my opinion, that at some point football is not going to be the No. 1 sport, he said. You talk about the ebbs and flows of what's popular and what's not. At some point, the TV ratings are not going to be there.

However, fans have not taken notice of any problem yet. This year's Super Bowl was the most watched television event in American history with 111.3 million people tuning in.

I can't justify that because the numbers say otherwise, but I guess time will tell, he said.

The absence of football in Los Angeles is an indicator that NFL will have severe long term issues, reported the Los Angeles Times.

People in Los Angeles realized, 'You know what, life's OK without the NFL.' If I'm an owner, I don't want any fan [to think] that, said Aikman.

What do you think? Is Aikman right? Will the NFL suffer declining ratings and popularity?