I really want to make this rule clear because it might be hard for some to understand.  Just ask Eagles starting quarterback and 10-year NFL veteran Donavan McNabb and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger, both of whom claimed to not know the specifics of the rule last season. Statistically, in the NFL there is a strong correlation towards the team who wins the coin toss eventually winning the game.  It might not always be on the first possession, but your percentage of winning jumps a large amount when winning the flip.
 
This rule brings to mind the infamous Thanksgiving Day game between the Pittsburg Steelers and the Detroit Lions in the late 90’s.  The game ended in a 16-16 tie and the team captains gathered at mid-field for the overtime flip. During the toss Steelers running back Jerome Bettis clearly called “tails.” However, NFL ref Phil Luckett proclaimed that Bettis said “heads."  Detroit was awarded the ball and won the game on the first possession of overtime.  Video evidence clearly showed that Bettis called “tails” and was unfairly given “heads” by Luckett.

If you are from a big city with a successful sports franchise then you might not even know what the blackout rule is.  If you live in a smaller market then you are all too familiar.  There isn’t anything quite as terrible as not being able to watch your favorite team play football on Sundays.  The NFL blackout rule has been detrimental to financially struggling teams.  It causes them to lose potential revenue and new fans.  With the economic troubles of late it would be nice if the NFL would let everybody enjoy their favorite NFL franchises. 

It is really quite perplexing that MLB does not have a league cap on the amount of money they pay their players.  The salary cap is a method used to keep the leagues overall costs down and ensure parity between teams.  It is also designed to restrict inflation on the player’s salaries, which is ever constant in the MLB.  Teams are signing players like Mike Hampton, who agreed to an 8-year 121 million dollar contract in 2000 and only lasted two years with the club. 

Just to give you an idea of the difference between team salaries in the MLB.  In 2010, the Yankees had the highest payroll, $209,081,579, and the Marlins had the lowest at $21,836,500.  With a salary cap each club has roughly the same amount of economic power to attract players to their cities.  It is the exact opposite in major league baseball with the Yankees landing any free agent they want.  In the NFL, the salary cap is set to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the year, $127 million for each team in 2009. 

So if the league profits gain then the players get paid more money.  I think that is a fair system for all.  The question of whether NFL players should receive more then 59.5% of the revenue is something else entirely.  The NFL players union will be discussing this issue when their current contract with the league runs out.

This might be the worst rule in all of sports.  I really can’t see any negatives to adopting the NFL regulations on this matter.  If your knee or elbow is down, but no opposing player has touched you, then you should be able to get up and run with the ball.  Some other notable college football rules that need to be reexamined are the one foot in and one foot out completion rule and the BCS standings.

The BCS standings might be the most hated college football rule.  It really takes away from the opportunity for the small market school to succeed.  The discussions on this topic are endless, but I think adopting a playoff system would be the best thing for college football and its fans.

Anonymous - July 22, 2010

Well in my opinion third rule related to NFL game is the worst.

Jesmin - August 20, 2010

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