SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Football season hasn't even started and already the National Football League is tackling some difficult challenges. It's coming off a season that saw an 8 percent decline in television viewership and now is faced with startling new evidence about the serious medical risks its players face.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Fox was unexpectedly scrambling this week to sell the last remaining in-game commercial spots for the Feb.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – The NFL's biggest concern this season likely isn't Colin Kaepernick or concussion risks or even who's going to the Super Bowl. It's eyeballs. The television juggernaut National Football League has seen its faithful TV audience unexpectedly deflate by more than 10 percent through the first five weeks of the season, according to Nielsen ratings data, with deeper drops notched during the Sunday, Monday and Thursday evening games.   

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Twitter will stream 10 Thursday Night Football games this NFL season, creating "a top media story to watch," a panel of sports and media executives tells Sports Business Journal. “Along with the (NFL’s) pregame Periscope broadcasts, the Twitter offering will give