The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXI when the Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots.

Notable events[link]

When Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, wanted to relocate his team to Baltimore in a surprise move first reported on by the Boston Globe on November 4 of 1995, the ensuing press furor and public relations mess forced the league to intercede and make an agreement with him and the Cities of Cleveland and Baltimore before the new season had barely begun. In the belated agreement, the name, colors and history of the Browns were to remain in Cleveland, while the relocated club would technically be a new league franchise; the city of Cleveland would be given another new franchise in the next few years, or a relocated existing franchise. Either way, the beloved Cleveland Browns would continue, while the Baltimore Ravens began their new history when the 1996 season started.

One of the most memorable aspects of the 1996 season was that the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, each in just their second year of existence, both advanced to their respective conference championship games. 1996 marked the third year the NFL salary cap was in force and also marked the end of a domination era in the NFL as it was the first season since 1991 (and only the second since 1987) in which neither the Dallas Cowboys nor the San Francisco 49ers played in the NFC Championship Game.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXXI when the Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots in a close game decided when a third quarter kick-off was returned for a touchdown by Packers' kick returner, Desmond Howard. For that, and his excellent performance on kick-off and punt returns throughout the game, Howard was named Super Bowl MVP, the only time (as of 2011) that a special teams player has earned that distinction.

All that was nearly overshadowed by the press feeding frenzy reporting and commenting on the rumor (Between the AFC championship game up to and into the broadcast coverage of Super Bowl XXXI itself) that iconic coach Bill Parcells was planning on breaking his contract with the New England Patriots because he did not get along well with owner Robert Kraft, who had helped turn around New England's image after years of ownership that was either dismal or absent. In the event, Parcells did not even return with the players, and telephone records showed he was talking to the Jets in the days before and the day of the Super Bowl itself. This documentary evidence lead to the league awarding the Patriots multiple draft picks in compensation for the "tampering" by the Jets,^[1] which is but a continuation of oneupsmanship that has gone on for years between the hated rivals.

Season changes[link]

• New Orleans Saints – New numbers on uniforms. On home uniform old gold numbers with white trim, and road uniforms old gold numbers with black trim, similar to team's original jerseys worn from 1967–69, but with a lighter shade of gold. 30th anniversary patch worn on the left chest.
• Philadelphia Eagles – New Logo. New uniforms, with "midnight green" color.
• Dallas Cowboys – New Color road uniforms.
• Baltimore Ravens – New team in new city. Formerly the Cleveland Browns. Purple jerseys with white numbers trimmed in black and gold at home; white jerseys with black numbers trimmed in purple and gold on the road. Black pants worn with both jerseys.
• San Francisco 49ers – New uniforms. Darker red, white pants, and updated team logo. 50th season logo on uniform.
• Minnesota Vikings – Changes in uniforms. Vikings logo on sleeve ends of home uniforms. Added yellow trim to numbers.

Coaching changes[link]

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tony Dungy new head coach. Replaced Sam Wyche who was fired after the 1995 season.
• Miami Dolphins – Jimmy Johnson new head coach. Replaced Don Shula who was retired after the 1995 season.
• Indianapolis Colts – Lindy Infante new head coach. Replaced Ted Marchibroda who was offered a job from the Baltimore Ravens.
• Cincinnati Bengals – Dave Shula was fired by mid season and was replaced by interim head coach Bruce Coslet.
• New Orleans Saints – Jim Mora resigned at mid season and was replaced by interim head coach Rick Venturi.
• Baltimore Ravens – Ted Marchibroda new head coach. Replaced Bill Belichick who was fired in the 1995 season in the Cleveland Browns era.

Major rule changes[link]

• In order to reduce injuries, hits with the helmet or to the head will be personal fouls and subject to fines.

Final regular season standings[link]

W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this season.

Tiebreakers[link]

• Jacksonville was the second AFC Wild Card ahead of Indianapolis and Kansas City based on better conference record (7–5 to Colts' 6–6 and Chiefs' 5–7).
• Indianapolis was the third AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Kansas City (1–0).
• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better net division points (19 to Oilers' 11).
• Oakland finished ahead of Seattle in the AFC West based on better division record (3–5 to Seahawks' 2–6).
• Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on better record against common opponents (8–5 to Eagles' 7–6).
• Minnesota was the third NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Washington (8–4 to Redskins' 6–6).
• Carolina finished ahead of San Francisco in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Atlanta finished ahead of New Orleans in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).

Playoffs[link]

Home team in capitals

AFC[link]

• Wild-Card playoffs: JACKSONVILLE 30, Buffalo 27; PITTSBURGH 42, Indianapolis 14
• Divisional playoffs: JACKSONVILLE 30, Denver27; NEW ENGLAND 28, Pittsburgh 3
• AFC Championship: NEW ENGLAND 20, Jacksonville 6 at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, January 12, 1997

NFC[link]

• Wild-Card playoffs: DALLAS 40, Minnesota 15; SAN FRANCISCO 14, Philadelphia 0
• Divisional playoffs: GREEN BAY 35, San Francisco 14; CAROLINA 26, Dallas 17
• NFC Championship: GREEN BAY 30, Carolina 13 at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin, January 12, 1997

Super Bowl[link]

• Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay (NFC) 35, New England (AFC) 21, at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 26, 1997

Statistical leaders[link]

Team[link]

Individual[link]

Awards[link]

External links[link]

• Football Outsiders DVOA Ratings and Commentary

References[link]

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
• 1996 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• Steelers Fever – History of NFL Rules (Last accessed October 17, 2005)

Footnotes[link]

1. ^ Michael Holly (2004). Patriots Reign (1st ed. HC ed.). HarperCollins. p. 240. ISBN 006757949. 

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008)

The National Football League has enjoyed success in selling out many of their venues from season ticket sales alone. Out of 32 teams in the league, 24 claim to have waiting lists from under 1,000 people to over 150,000. For some fans, this means a wait not just of years, but decades. This is due mostly to the NFL's short window of play; there are only eight regular-season home games, forcing the most devoted fans into a desperate and sometimes costly search for a limited number of events.^[1]

Since 1973, the waiting lists have also had the by-product of preventing any home games of certain teams from being blacked out on local television. Home games must be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff before a telecast is allowed, and the longest waiting lists have ensured every home game of the applicable teams being locally televised. Prior to 1973, home games could not be locally televised even if they were sold out. Four teams have had the benefit of not seeing any blackouts at all since 1972.

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs)[link]

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) is a license which grants the holder the right to buy season tickets for a particular team. PSLs were first used in the NFL by the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1993 to help finance their new stadium. Since that time, several teams have used the mechanism to finance new stadium projects including the Chicago Bears remodel of Soldier Field and more recently the Dallas Cowboys. The New York Jets and the New York Giants used PSL programs to finance the construction of the New Meadowlands Stadium, now MetLife Stadium.^[2]

Criticism related to waiting lists[link]

In 2003, the New York Jets changed their waiting list policy to require a $50 annual maintenance fee to remain on the waiting list. However, due to the long list of names and high renewal rates among existing ticket holders, there was uncertainty about the fees a person may possibly have to pay if they remained on the list for many years. After attention from the media and the New York Attorney General's Office, the Jets agreed to cap the maintenance fees at $500, allow the transfer of the waiting list position if the person moved out of state and provide at least 80% of non-renewed season tickets to waiting list members. In 2008, the Jets sent notices to those on the waiting list that the $50 annual maintenance fee would be waived and any money already accrued would be either refunded or credited toward the purchase of Jets merchandise.

In 2004, the New England Patriots, who have a substantial season ticket waiting list, received media attention for not allowing the son of a deceased season ticket holder to retain his father's season tickets. The following year, the New England Patriots introduced the "Pass It On" transfer program, which allows season ticket holders to transfer season tickets to immediate family members for $2,000 to $5,000 per ticket, depending on the location of the seat.^[3]

The NFL requires that season ticket purchasers not only purchase the regular season games, but also typically two preseason games whether they want the exhibition games or not. The legality of requiring the purchase of the preseason games has been challenged all the way to the Supreme Court but it has not resulted in a change of policy for the NFL.^[4]

Lengthiest waiting lists[link]

Annual postcard sent out by the Green Bay Packers organization to those on the waiting list for season tickets

The Green Bay Packers have the most famous waiting list, with more than 90,000 names. Turnover is generally low; the Packers estimate that only 90 tickets turn over every year, a rate which would mean a name placed on the list today would be eligible for season tickets in 1000 years.^[5] It is a common custom in Green Bay and other Wisconsin cities to put a baby's name on the list as soon as the birth certificate is obtained.^[6][7][8] Transfer of standing to surviving relatives is permitted by the Packers.^[5]

The Washington Redskins were reported to have the most number of names on their waiting list at over 150,000. However, recent investigations question if a waiting list exists at all,^[9] which would seem to contradict the fact that FedExField has demolished 10,000 seats heading into the 2011 season. The New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos historically have also maintained long waiting lists for season tickets.^[1]

Waiting lists[link]

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Toughest NFL Waiting Lists - Forbes.com". Forbes. 2007-09-07. http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/07/nfl-football-tickets-forbeslife-cx_ls_0907tickets.html. 
2. ^ Mascarenhas, Rohan (2010-08-17). "New Meadowlands Stadium opens to Giants, Jets fans in East Rutherford". The Star-Ledger (Newark). http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/new_meadowlands_stadium_opens.html. Retrieved 2011-08-23. 
3. ^ Mohl, Bruce (2005-02-25). "Season ticket transfer fees irk fans". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/25/season_ticket_transfer_fees_irk_fans/. 
4. ^ Angelo F. Coniglio v. Highwood Services, Inc., 495 F.2d 1286 (2d Cir. 1974-04-17).
5. ^ ^{a b} Gary D’Amato (19 January 2011). "Packers season tickets worth the wait - 1000 years for some on the list". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/114877119.html. Retrieved 24 February 2011. 
6. ^ Packers.com - Fan Zone - Faq - Tickets
7. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Waitlist_Postcard.jpg
8. ^ "SI.com - Be the 74,659th In Line! - Oct 9, 2007". CNN. 2007-10-09. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/rick_reilly/10/09/reilly1015/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
9. ^ [1]
10. ^ The Baltimore Ravens' waiting list is capped at 3,000.
11. ^ http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/green-bay-packers-daily-links-season-ticket-waiting-list-expands-to-96000
12. ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/indianapolis-colts-season-tickets.html
13. ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/new-england-patriots-season-tickets.html
14. ^ "#21 New Orleans Saints". Forbes. 2010-08-25. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/30/football-valuations-10_New-Orleans-Saints_309939.html. 
15. ^ http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2007/06/01/want-eagles-season-tickets-wait-4-000-years/
16. ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2009/05/pittsburgh-steelers-season-tickets.html
17. ^ O'Neil, Danny (2010-03-03). "Seahawks raise prices slightly for season-ticket renewals". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2011244325_hawktickets04.html. 
18. ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/seattle-seahawks-season-tickets.html

13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103984_pf.html