Seems like maybe you don’t get the point of footnotes. They’re just for when the reader wants to know more. See a referenced material and want to know more? See a term you are familiar with and want to know more? Does an argument leave you wondering how the author considers it in a larger scope? The answer to all of these questions, is look at the footnote. I only click footnotes when the sentence they’re attached to leaves me wanting more. They’re not for the author to keep the text they didn’t want to cut, they’re for the readers who aren’t as well verst in the material. They’re for the academic who needs a proper citation. They’re for the casual reader who doesn’t want to know all that stuff and interrupt their flow.