The Extractive Nature of the NFL

The Extractive Nature of the NFL

The National Football League, though not a nation, conducts its operations similar to the Spanish Conquistadors in the New World.  Rather than promote the general welfare of the masses, as Acemoglu and Robinson assert successful nations do, the NFL has extractive institutions in place in order to acquire the most wealth for the owners, while putting the health of the players at risk.  Playing the role of the Spanish Crown is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the man in charge of creating the NFL's institutions.  Bill Simmons, the man whose article brought this extractive policy to light (for me at least) had this to say about Goodell:

"[He's] a total hypocrite for pretending to care about the welfare of his players as he's pushing for an 18-game regular season that would lead to more injuries, more concussions, more collateral damage, more everything. Hey, Roger: If you cared about the welfare of the players, you'd shorten the season to 15 games and add another week of byes. Right? But hey, that would cost owners money."

As Simmons elaborates in his article, the NFL is forgoing obvious solutions to protect the vast majority of the league (the players) such as a shortened season or an added bye week, in order to bring in more wealth for the minority (the owners).  Just as the Conquistadors and extractive nations everywhere knowingly exploit the masses for the gain of a few, the NFL knowingly exploits its over 1600 players to the benefit of its 32 owners.