The N.F.L.’s centennial season starts Thursday, an anniversary the league has already all started celebrating.

A few observers believe that a real transformation of the sport’s economics is most effective simply beginning now thanks to the advancing legalization of sports activities betting throughout the us of a. The superb court closing yr struck down a regulation that had banned sports activities having a bet in most states, so while the Packers and Bears kick off in Chicago on Thursday night, football fans in 12 states may be able to partake in a few form of criminal sports activities playing. numerous more states have launches within the works.

However fans hoping that spread will significantly reshape how they watch the united states’s most famous making a bet game could be left upset, at least for now. This year’s N.F.L. will look lots like ultimate yr’s N.F.L., which looked like the previous 12 months’s N.F.L.

“We get awesome engagement, we don’t need to integrate sports activities having a bet immediately into that,” stated Christopher Halpin, the N.F.L. govt in price of strategy. The tv networks that show N.F.L. games appear to concur, likely in element due to the phrases in their broadcast contracts.

N.F.L. television contracts have for many years prohibited announcers from speakme about playing, said Fred Gaudelli, the longtime manufacturer of NBC’s soccer telecasts, on a convention name final week. sports activities betting references could be “incredibly isolated” this season he said, adding that NBC turned into beginning conversations with the N.F.L. “approximately what’s viable going ahead.”

A Fox spokesman stated there might be betting references on-air “if it makes experience and our announcers can organically work it in.” An ESPN executive stated there have been “no plans to talk about gambling” on recreation telecasts and CBS executives had been noncommittal. In different words, don’t assume on-display having a bet strains or announcers often discussing whether a past due-game discipline purpose helped a crew cover the unfold.