Economic concerns explain the NFL's new national anthem policy. They don't justify them. Business is not a religion and shouldn't excuse behavior that would otherwise be considered sociopathic.
The NFL exploded in popularity and profitability at a time when most of its players were African American. You would think this alone would make franchise owners sensitive to civil rights issues and want to help the community that produced the majority of its workforce. But rather than engage players who helped enrich them, the owners unilaterally decided to ban a form of protest that has effectively maintained a national conversation about racial injustice.