The NFL Playoffs are here, which is the most exciting part of the season for die-hard fans. However, throughout this current season, the ratings have been considerably down, which is unusual for the most popular sport here in America.  The postseason hasn’t helped, as the audience for the first Saturday night playoff game this year between the Seahawks and the Lions was 20 percent below last years viewers.

People have been trying to discover why the ratings have fallen off this season, and according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the presidential election might have played a large part in it.

“It’s clear that the election had an impact,” Goodell said. “There’s no question that going head to head with debates, you’re going to get that kind of ratings drop – particularly with an election that may have been more followed than any election in our history.”

One of the more controversial acts in recent memory started in the beginning of the NFL season when Colin Kaepernick kneeled for the United States national anthem before every game in protest for oppression towards African-Americans. While many people, including other NFL players, got behind Kaepernick and his protest, many others are strongly against his actions, which can make people turn off their television sets during football games

In fact, according to a poll conducted in October by Sharkey Institute at Seton Hall University, it found that when asked to weigh in on seven possible contributing factors to the NFL ratings decline, 56 percent said “yes” to the anthems as a factor.  In a separate poll later that month, 23 percent of respondents said they are watching fewer NFL games, and 25 percent said that it is due to the national anthem protests. Although these are limited responses, it shows that many people are turned off by Kaepernick’s actions.

While the two other possibilities for the ratings drop can be solved, there are some reasons that will not be solved. A major possibility for the TV ratings drop could be due to a lack of quality play.  In order to understand this problem, it may take someone who plays the game of football to explain it, and senior football player Jeffrey Fuller gave his opinion on the matter.

“I don’t think that the competition is the same this year,” Fuller said.  “Peyton Manning retiring and Tom Brady’s early suspension has made the AFC Conference less competitive, which turns fans off.  Just like when one of our best players on our football team misses a game, it makes the team worse, which leads to a less interesting game.”

Overall, there is no way for anyone to know the exact reason as to why the NFL ratings have dipped this season. The NFL has been extremely successful for so long, so it would be shocking to see a continuation of the decline in the viewing of the sport.