I am from England, I started watching American football on Sundays with friends in which we all chose different teams. I choose the ravens after watching a game, loving the style of play and felt good about the setup with the team.
If they are putting profits over the fans they will soon see the number of new fans decline as people want to absorb themselves into the team they support. If I wasn't able to have knowledgable conversations with some on the forums I wouldn't know the game.
Dont know the cost of running the forum but I'm sure it's less then the loss of future fans