If real sports are going to be successful in the online (and televised) space over the next few months, the one thing they need above all others is participation from actual athletes. Thatās why the La Liga and NASCARtournaments have been so fun, and is why itās a bit worrying that Fox and the NFLās version only has eight entrants.
Of the retired or inactive players, thereās Vick and Matt Leinart (who already work for Fox), Antonio Cromartie, Orlando Scandrick, T. J. Houshmandzadeh and former Packers RB Ahman Green, who is now working as an āesports coachā.
The two current NFL players taking part are Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chargers safety Derwin James.
Without the novelty of actual professional athletes playing a virtual approximation of their day-jobs, stuff like this quickly falls back into the realm of āregular esportsā, which is fine, but also nowhere near as cool as it could be, or what rival leagues/sports are coming up with.
Hopefully the NFL can learn from stuff like Spain and NASCAR and setup something more interesting later on during this lockdown.
