But the knowledge about CTE is a more recent revelation and some players who are in the NFL are retiring early deciding it is not worth the risk. Ex players are visibly showing the effects of the damage of a career in football. They used to hobble around on canes--now they are brain damaged, suicidal, etc. Big difference from prior fears about safety.
While I agree that interest in watching the sport will remain strong (mostly due to the billions of dollars spent gambling on games), the erosion of talent has already started and will continue as fewer and fewer kids play the game. Those ugly prime time games last year were a reflection of bad teams of which there seems to be more and more due to the lack of depth in talent...particularly the QB play. Football becomes unwatchable when there is bad play, and I'd rather watch paint dry than see two teams with bad QBs play each other. I'm guessing I am not alone based on the ratings decline.