While the longtime Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders owner and general manager Al Davis was most remembered as a fierce competitor bent on winning at all costs, he never lost sight of the real business he was in.

Entertainment.

One afternoon early in our years together he was quizzing me in his office on what we, the Raiders, were in business to do.

“Winning,” I replied with confidence.

Davis got a wide smile on his face while saying, “That’s what we’re here to get done young man, but what business are we in?”

“Football,” was my second feeble reply to his question.

“Dennis,” Davis said, “We are in the entertainment business.”

The NFL puts on a heck of a show every season. In my opinion, and this would be backed up by television ratings, the league is the best reality show aired. The league knows what business they are in and they don’t miss an opportunity to enhance their product’s appeal.

It begins with the regular season schedule. Lopsided division races do not maximize entertainment value. Competitive races that are still up for grabs late in the season are much more desirable. To this end, the NFL will schedule the best teams early against talented opponents and in difficult situations to better ensure they will lose a game or two in September. If they do, and then go on to dominate their divisions, the early loss or two will keep the races competitive longer.

Consider the NFL’s opening week 2026 schedule. They have already pinned one of the Super Bowl combatants from last year with a loss, and they assured that by having the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meet in the opener. The Seahawks comeback victory saw the Patriots absorb the early loss; the league was in the Cheshire Cat seat knowing whoever won last night a top team was going to be tagged with a loss.

Same goes for tonight when the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers meet in Australia to open their campaigns. The Rams are favored to win it all this year, so the league schedules them to open on the road against a tough division opponent … and even if they win, the league has handed the talented 49ers an early season loss.

While the league opened this year with a pair of games that will likely tag a top team with a loss, they also end the first week of action with an equally compelling game that will force one of the highest rated teams into the cellar of the AFC West Division. On Monday night, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs have been an NFL power for a decade and have the most dynamic quarterback in the game with Patrick Mahomes.

The Broncos have a top ranked defense and a young quarterback, Bo Nix, who has led Denver into the postseason in both his professional campaigns and may have guided them to a Super Bowl last season had he not been injured while leading the Broncos to a win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round.

Two other top teams in the AFC are the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans. Both have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations this year and one of them is going to be tagged with a loss and in last place in their division after this weekend’s play. They meet each other on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

In recent years, the NFL has also looked to spread their entertainment package worldwide with their International Games. This year, they will stage nine of them beginning with tonight’s contest in Australia. Well, Thursday night if you are in the United States, but the game will kickoff at 10:35 a.m. on Friday local time in Melbourne.

The 49ers took the long trip to their opening game site last Wednesday, looking to spend a week in Australia to accumulate them to the time and weather before tonight’s kickoff. The Rams chose to hold this far away game as a normal trip while leaving on the same schedule as if the game were to be played in New York.

Both teams did studies on what travel schedule would be best for their team and came up with different conclusions. I find the same situation with the game itself. The 49ers as an underdog against a division rival they have fared well against for years has its benefits. Backing the noted best team in football also looks attractive, which would land us on the Rams side.

Like the team travel schedules, we see both sides without a wagering edge on either one.

Chalk this one for entertainment only.