To say that Skycam™ was divisive and controversial would be an understatement. A cursory review of Twitter indicated that the introduction Skycam was met with either unbridled adulation or unmitigated, vitriolic disdain.
I hated Skycam. I thought Skycam sucked so, so hard. But I understand why Skycam happened.
Last February, the NFL, along with monolithic network giants CBS and NBC, agreed to a massive, multiyear broadcasting contract—one that nets the NFL somewhere in the ballpark of $45 million per game. Within this incredibly lucrative contact lies an interesting Catch-22: players and a lot of fans abhor Thursday night games, but due to the league’s revenue sharing model, that extra coin ultimately confers some mildly-tangible benefits to the players, such as a higher salary cap and, by extension, larger contracts.