As President Donald Trump made a series of controversial comments against the hundreds of NFL players who knelt during the national anthem in games over the weekend, NBC's broadcast of "Sunday Night Football" saw a significant drop in ratings compared to its week three game in 2016.
The "Sunday Night Football" match-up between the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins was down around 12.9% compared to last year's game in the same week, according to Reuters.
For contrast, CBS's Sunday games all saw slight upticks in viewership compared to last year.
The "Sunday Night Football" ratings drop comes in the wake of Trump's comments, starting at an Alabama rally on Friday, where he sparked controversy and condemnation by saying that players who knelt in protest of the national anthem should be "fired."
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Numerous NFL team owners spoke out against Trump's comments over the weekend. Meanwhile, more than 200 players knelt in protest during week three games, following in the path of a movement started by the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who protested police brutality and racial injustice against African Americans.
In turn, Trump tweeted about the NFL's ratings woes amid his clash with the league, writing, "
The NFL has been suffering from repeated year-over-year declines in ratings. In the first week of this season, the league saw a 12% decline in ratings, which was followed by a 15% drop in week two, year-over-year, according to Nielsen.
Last week, a Jefferies analyst speculated that a