Milking Publicity

The NFL does a great job promoting itself, but panders to the public at times. I think they are doing that with the first female to get a tryout at a regional Scouting Combine in New Jersey next moth.

A 28 year old female club soccer player will be among the candidates. The NFL recently changed the rule to allow gender equity on the field. Nobody ever expects a woman to play in the NFL, but the league wants to make itself look good.

I think this is nothing more than a publicity stunt. The league is going along with it because they are milking it for every ounce of positive media attention it can get. There is no downside to this for them.

Players going to the Combine pay a fee of $225, with a limit of 225 participants. Punters and kickers pay $275, with a limit of 50 and 40 individuals for each specialty. Everyone who is there is paying out their own pocket for a chance to audition.

The Combine is a chance to find the players who fall through the cracks or trying to get back into the league. Former Pats LB Pierre Woods is trying out at another Regional Combine hoping to get a chance for a training camp invitation after being out of the league for two season.

I just wonder how serious this tryout really is for the female kicker. She said her furthest field goal was 40 yards. That won't cut it in the NFL. She wouldn't be used on kickoffs because she couldn't get it to the end zone for a touch back. I think it would also be very dangerous for her to play on kick coverage because of her size

So the NFL is getting a lot of positive publicity out of this. It takes away the attention from the arrest of players and the problem with PED's. They will also probably see an increase in the sales of their apparel to female fans. It's a win-win situation all the way to the bank.