Study: NFL preseason hardly matters

Regular season football has kicked off, but before we get too far, CSU researchers would like to have a word about the preseason.

Economists Nancy Jianakoplos and Martin Shields recently published “Practice or Profits: Does the NFL Preseason Matter?” in the Journal of Sports Economics.

They determined that preseason, does not, in fact, matter, unless you count the increased advertising revenue for those networks that broadcast games. The researchers used data from the 2002-2010 NFL seasons to come to their conclusions.

“These results serve to confirm the view of many fans and even the commissioner of the NFL, who have expressed discontent with…