If we’re going to discuss the National Football League’s change in policy about standing or kneeling for the national anthem, we should know what we’re talking about. For the sake of clarity, here is the National Football League’s entire, uncut statement released this week regarding its new policy for showing on-field respect for the United States flag and national anthem:

The 32 member clubs of the National Football League have reaffirmed their strong commitment to work alongside our players to strengthen our communities and advance social justice. The unique platform that we have created is unprecedented in its scope, and will provide extraordinary resources in support of programs to promote positive social change in our communities.

The membership also strongly believes that:

1. All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

2. The game operations manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the anthem.

3. Personnel who choose not to stand for the anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the anthem has been performed.

4. A club will be fined by the league if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

5. Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

6. The commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

Do you remember how this all started in September 2016?

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick and a handful of other players knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Last fall, speaking at a rally in Alabama, President Donald Trump asked the crowd, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b***h off the field right now’?” The entire NFL, its commissioner, owners, coaches and players banded together and sharply criticized the president.

But it’s funny how the issued boiled down to simple poll numbers — viewer ratings, to be more specific. Viewers tune in to watch football, not social protest that disrespects for our flag or those who fought and died defending it.

To be clear, a bold stand does not make an individual player any more or less patriotic than the owners. Americans seem intent on arguing both possibilities — only not on Sunday afternoons.

When it became apparent that the anthem protests were turning off a sizable portion of the NFL TV audience, advertisers started to withdraw their advertising dollars.

The withdrawal of commercial sponsorship panicked the NFL owners, who are under contractual obligation to pay huge salaries to their NFL star players.

Many of the players have seemed less panicked than the owners, probably because of the security that their contracts represent — trouble with that logic is, the entire league could go belly-up financially if enough fans and advertisers lose interest, particularly given the proliferation of mass media and entertainment options available on any given Sunday. If the NFL loses just a portion of its advertising momentum, it might never get it back.

It’s why the National Football League franchise owners decided to ignore their players association when they voted to institute the new policy: players must stand for the national anthem or stay out of sight until the anthem is over, or the team will be assessed a fine. Another way of stating the policy is that the owners still encourage their players to get involved in difficult, complex social issues, but if they take a controversial stand, don’t make it part of the game — or the anthem.

This might be oversimplifying it, maybe even a bit extreme, but if the money doesn’t flow, football is done.