Santonio Holmes starred in the most-viewed Super Bowl.

AP

Are the good times over?

In the wake of the most-viewed Super Bowl in history, that's the question posed by SportsBusiness Journal writers Terry Lefton and John Ourand as they look ahead to the NFL's upcoming labor and sponsor talks. Paramount among discussions will be the CBA negotiations, but everything from losing Home Depot as a sponsor to purchasing live NFL games via broadband may soon converge as the league reaches "a revenue crossroads".

While Mike Trager, a sports media consultant and former chairman of Clear Channel Entertainment's television division, says the league does not seem vulnerable to losing money, he allows, "I certainly think there has been a leveling out. If you're talking about quantum leaps in revenue, that's about done."

On the other hand, Octagon President and CEO Rick Dudley, a former NFL marketer, said, "People have been saying the NFL has topped out for decades, and every cycle they produce more revenue. There's no doubt the economy has put a halt to their growth trajectory and will even likely result in a flat to slightly down performance over the next 12 to 18 months. [But] I track the success of the game to the number of fans it enjoys and there is no other game in the U.S. that matches the NFL's fan base."

With the NFL enjoying the heights of its prosperity and popularity, do you think the league will be hit hard by the world-wide economic turmoil? What can fans do to help the league brace against revenue decline?

NFL at revenue crossroads [SportsBusiness Journal]