Jim Irsay's an idiot. I find it difficult to believe the NFL has real balance problems. If my numbers are still right, gate receipts are split 60/40 between the home and away teams. The TV contract is split evenly among everyone, and that revenue has to dwarf every other stream, or at least make the differences between them neglible in terms of competive balance. The only thing I might be missing are stadium revenues. Luxury boxes are treated as real estate (and priced like Manhattan penthouses, at least in New England) and thus exempt from any revenue sharing. The real split in the NFL is probably between owners of modern stadia and those stuck with 70s relics. That may correlate closely with market size, but it doesn't mean revenue sharing will fix it.
The NFL should be careful. Back in the 1960s, English football had a kind of revinue sharing. There was no television money, all gate receipts were shared with the away team, and there was a maximum wage (read in this day and age, salary cap). As a result, the likes of Preston, Huddersfield, Bolton, Blackpool etc were able to be competitive. Now, the competitiveness has been lost. Liverpool are 4th favourites to win the Premiership next year at 12-1, and the rest are 50-1 or worse. Norwich, West Brom and Crystal Palace are several thousand - 1. A far cry from 1978, when Nottingham Forest could win division 2 and division 1 in successive years. In another decade, the NFL could easily find itself in a situation whereby only 6 or so teams have a realistic chance of winning a Super Bowl - and it will be hard to reverse the trend, as those winning teams fight tooth and nail against reform. Look at the current state of Formula One as another example.
In another decade, the NFL could easily find itself in a situation whereby only 6 or so teams have a realistic chance of winning a Super Bowl Or like a few years before with the Cowboys. And the Niners before that. And etc?
