Does this mean that the team decided to do it? My understanding is that the NFL can only force a team to be on if they haven’t been on before and they miss the playoffs two seasons in a row.
If they weren’t forced, then I am surprised they agreed.
A few years ago I recall Goodell saying every team will ultimately have to participate, so yeah this is league mandated. I know Pete had refused initial overtures bc of a few experiences at USC. In 2003, Auburn allowed cameras into practices and also showed their spring game on ESPN. USC opened with Auburn and clobbered them 23-0, and Pete quietly acknowledged having that intel gave them a big edge.
I don't know that that's been the case w NFL teams on Hard Knocks, but players and coaches have, in recent years, been very aware of the face they show to the cameras. I know that during the Jets year on HK, Antonio Cromartie was filmed trying to remember all of his kids' ages, and there were a whole bunch of them clustered together, and it was very apparent they were with different women. Between that and Rex yelling "let's go eat a f***ing snack" I think teams have warned their teams about not attracting the wrong kind of attention. So yeah, that's likely why the Bills were incredibly boring last year.
