Several weeks ago, Limbaugh spoke about this. He has some minor experience in this, as an announcer for the Royals decades ago, and he recalled that one day he was required to go to a training session about fan loyalty. The trainer essentially said the fan/team relationship was unconditional, and the team never made demands or emotionally hurt the fan - much like a relationship with a pet.
Now that the NFL has broken that paradigm, fans might leave in droves.
Association Football (Soccer)North, South and Central American, European and yes, even women's, is available all over cable almost 24/7/365. It is growing in popularity here and may just be the antidote for American withdrawal pangs from the NFL. Continuous action, no time outs and no commercials during the play.