The NFL and the National Anthem protests are once again in the news. After weeks of protests, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has issued a memo on the matter. Joe Lockart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications has said the owners will take up the issue when they meet next week. Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, has said he will bench any player who takes a knee or sits during the playing of the Anthem and the Local 100 Labor Unions have filed a complaint against Jones with the NLRB for his comments. President Trump has threatened to do whatever he can to remove tax breaks teams have enjoyed to help build new stadiums, etc. Lost in all that is a simple truth: the NFL is losing viewers which means losing money and this controversy has done nothing to stem that flow.

And that has all happened in the last few days.

Let’s look at the numbers first. This past Sunday night game registered yet another decline in viewer ratings. Down 3% from the previous week, this marked a low this year for Sunday Night Football. The NFL might not be paying much attention to the ratings but you know those companies buying advertising are. Lower ratings mean fewer potential customers and that will translate to fewer dollars for both the advertisers and the NFL.

Things didn’t look any better for Monday night’s game. Even with the promise of showing a new trailer for the upcoming movie, The Last Jedi, ratings were down 17%. That is a regular season low for ESPn.

And yet the protests continue, even as ratings plummet.