Twenty years ago, ESPN premiered a television drama called 'Playmakers'. It dove into a lot of edgy issues in football, and it was an instant hit with viewers.&nbsp;But after just one season, ESPN pulled the show from the airwaves, reportedly because the NFL was upset about it. Today, we bring you the story of a TV show that in many ways was ahead of its time, the role the NFL played in its demise, and think about how it should be remembered today.Guest: <a href="https://theathletic.com/author/chris-vannini/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chris Vannini,</a> The Athletic<a href="https://theathletic.com/4737293/2023/08/04/nfl-espn-playmakers-tv-show/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read Chris's full story about the rise and fall of Playmakers</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

A Saudi Soccer Gold Rush

The award-winning sports show from Wondery, known for delivering the best storytelling in sports. Every Wednesday and Friday, co-hosts Tiffany Oshinsky and Anders Kelto dive into the biggest and most fascinating sports stories of the day, as told by the reporters who cover them up close. The Lead cuts through the chatter and brings you in-depth reporting and emotional stories, to help make sense of the complicated sports landscape.Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of The Lead ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.