Mark Cuban hasn’t been afraid to criticize the NFL in the past, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down on that front any time soon.

Cuban’s mentality is perhaps best encapsulated by the time he compared the NFL’s greed to a hog on the way to the killing floor:

“I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion. When pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns against you.”

Those comments got some play last fall as the NFL dealt with declining ratings, and now Cuban is back for more in the wake of the NFL’s decision to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas. Speaking with Outside the Lines, Cuban fairly succinctly summed up his thoughts:

Cuban brings up some fantastic points, including the smaller market size and the transient nature of the city, concerns that alongside legalized gambling have kept major sports teams from moving there for, well, ever.

But Cuban’s critical thesis, as it has been in the past, is the NFL’s overriding greed:

“They’re chasing every last dollar, and that tends to backfire.”

He’s probably not wrong, either! The NFL has a lot of problems, whether they want to admit it or not, and leaving a long-term market for a new one is a pretty big risk; this might not be the right time to chance weakening any link of the NFL’s chain.

Now, of course, Cuban also owns a team that’s part of a league in fairly direct competition for sports and entertainment money from fans and television networks alike, so it’s not as though he’s an impartial observer, but being close to an issue doesn’t inherently disqualify an opinion. In fact, it can often heighten it, as Cuban likely spends plenty of time considering the ramifications of the actions of professional sports franchises.

It is fun to imagine Mark Davis pitching the move to Vegas on Shark Tank, though.

[Raiders Wire]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.