While everyone at home watching the game is watching commercials, the people at the stadium are just staring at an empty field.

Why are fans who commit to going to the game, paying for parking and overpriced concessions, being punished by having to wait multiple minutes between plays?

The NFL and NCAA require eight commercial breaks per half. Two of these breaks occur at the end of the first and third quarters, and two during the two-minute warning.

Now, I get that the NFL and NCAA have deals with these broadcast stations, and that’s why there are so many commercials.

I’m also not saying commercials aren’t important. Millions of people watch football games, meaning there are millions of pairs of eyes on these companies’ ads. Commercials do serve a purpose besides being annoying.

What I’m saying is that it’s unfair to the loyal fans who are taking the time to go to the stadium to watch the game.

I have gone to several Iowa Hawkeye football games, and the one thing that stands out at these games is not the play on the field — it’s how long the commercial breaks are.

The typical commercial break lasts around two and a half minutes. While that might not seem long, when you’re at the stadium, it feels like an eternity. The icing on the cake is the players standing on the field waiting for the commercial break to be over, just like the fans in the stands.

Especially during cold-weather games, those two and a half minutes can definitely feel like ten.

These excessively long commercial breaks take all the juice and energy out of both the fans and the players. If a big moment happens that gets both the team and the fans’ adrenaline running, and it’s followed by a lengthy break, the energy gets sucked right out of the stadium. Not to mention, it also takes away the attacking team’s momentum.

So, are there any solutions to this problem?

One solution the NFL has come up with is a double-box ad format. This occurs when there are two boxes on the screen — one showing the live gameplay and another showing an advertisement.

Brian Rolapp, the league’s chief media and business officer, stated, “NFL’s internal testing showed viewers ‘paid as much, if not more, attention’ to double-box commercials compared to normal ad breaks,” according to The Drum.

I personally love this format because it doesn’t take me away from what I really came to watch: the game itself.

Not to mention, the TV deals between these broadcast networks are ginormous.

ESPN and the College Football Playoff recently agreed to a new six-year, $7.8 billion contract. ESPN will now hold the sole media rights to the brand-new 12-team tournament through the 2031-2032 season.

You’re telling me these broadcast stations can’t afford to play one or two fewer commercials with that type of money?