Dan Patrick: NFL is going to add 1 wild card team to each conference

[KidA23]

Never thought of that angle. Problem is both conferences have those divisions and easily two teams from the East could play at the same time.

Yea. This is an even bigger issue in MLB, where the schedule is absurdly unbalanced such that most teams play their division rivals approximately 18-19 games per year. This means that a team in a 5-team division plays 90 out of its 162 games against divisional opponents. This, of course, is gravely unfair to teams in the more competitive divisions, a problem that is exacerbated by the absence of a salary cap.

Despite repeated calls for change, it will never happen because of TV ratings; put simply, it makes a massive difference in viewership when such a substantial percentage of the local team's games begin at the same local time. Take the Yankees. Is it fair to, say, the Rays that they play in the same division as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays--three teams with far greater spending power? Probably not. But New York, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay / St. Pete's, and Baltimore all have one thing in common; application of EST. That every weeknight game involving any two of these teams begins promptly at 7:05pm is a massive selling point to local advertisers.

 

[bigdoublezero]

Is it fair to, say, the Rays that they play in the same division as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.

Fuck you for leaving out the Orioles.