NFL Games Rigged?
When we think about the NFL games rigged, we see it in two different ways: as a company and as a sport. Some warning signs appear when we ask, “Are NFL games fixed?” Many fans support the NFL and dismiss the idea of it being rigged because they adore the sport. Others casually point out how it seems like they pull off some shady stuff.
Some fans think that NFL games are rigged, saying that referees use penalties to help certain teams. Some former NFL players even suggest that the NFL is more about entertainment than real sports.
Questioning the legitimacy of America’s favorite sport is not well-received, and hardcore fans often brush it off as a conspiracy theory while placing their bets with the NFL’s betting partners. But why would they need to rig the most-watched sport in the first place? And how would they even do it?
The question of whether NFL games are rigged splits the loyal NFL fanbase. Many argue that rigging NFL games would involve too many people, so they prefer to believe that the NFL is a clean sport.
If you don’t think that major professional sports leagues would ever try to control or rig their games, consider the following information and decide for yourself if the sport we love is more about “show business” than actual sport.
In a lawsuit against the NFL in 2010 regarding licensed merchandise like hats and shirts, the NFL claimed it should be treated as a single entity, not 32 separate teams. As the case went on, the NFL stuck to its position as a “sports entertainment” company, not a genuinely competitive sport. College football is an example of a “collegiate sport,” while professional wrestling (WWE) and roller derby are the only examples of “sports entertainment” businesses.
During the trial, NFL Lawyer Gregg H. Levy stated that as long as NFL clubs are part of a unit and compete as a unit in the entertainment market, they should be considered a single entity not subject to antitrust law.
The NFL Doesn’t Employ Referees
In the NFL, referees aren’t hired directly. Why? Well, it’s simpler to point fingers at the officials when things go wrong in a game. When a few questionable calls end up costing a team the win, the NFL can distance itself from the referees, making it look like they’re not really involved.
Instead, referees and their crew (there are 7 officials on game day) get evaluated after the season is over. Referees who make bad or controversial calls, or those who miss important calls in crucial moments, usually don’t get suspended or fired.
What’s interesting is that the NFL is the only sports league that doesn’t employ its own referees. This means there’s not much accountability on their part when these part-time employees make a “mistake” on the field.
The NFL Shares Its Revenue With All The Teams
The NFL has drafts, gets protected by special antitrust rules, and shares more than 70% of its huge yearly income, which is over $10 billion, with all the teams in the league.
When it comes to ticket sales, 66% goes to the home team, and the remaining 34% is split among the other franchises. No other league shares as much of its income as the NFL. It makes sense for teams (or franchises) to go along with what the NFL wants, given that they’re responsible for most of the money that gets generated and shared among the 32 teams.
If NFL teams were independent entities, as they want you to think, none of these arrangements would exist, as the NFL’s structure is quite different from how a free-market company typically operates.
Federal Laws Don’t Prohibit Scripted Games
The Sports Bribery Act of 1964 was made to fight organized crime and the gambling industry’s influence on sports. It says that anyone involved in a scheme to bribe a sporting contest could face fines or imprisonment. But the key term here is “bribery.” It’s not against the law for a league to tell an employee (like an official, coach, or player) to influence or control a game’s outcome. That’s why the Sports Bribery Act doesn’t apply if a referee or player decides on their own to manipulate a game.
So far, this law has never led to an arrest in connection with a game in the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL.
Ticketholders Have No Right To A Fair Game
Even after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell got rid of the evidence, the New England Patriots were caught cheating in 2007 by videotaping their opponents’ signals (Spygate), a practice they’d been doing for ten years.
A season-ticket holder for the Jets, Carl Mayer, sued the Patriots, trying to get compensation for himself and other Jets fans. He lost the case because the NFL argued, and the court agreed, that fans who buy tickets to an NFL game have the minimum right to a seat to watch two teams play.
If the Patriots used unfair methods to win, that’s just how it goes. This suggests that, legally speaking, the NFL would be in the clear even if their games were somehow manipulated.
The NFL Puts On A Show
No matter what you believe, whether it’s rigged, scripted, or just showing favoritism to certain popular teams to fit a certain story, one thing’s for sure: the NFL knows how to put on a live “performance” that keeps hundreds of millions entertained during the Super Bowl.
Close games add to the excitement and drama, bringing in more viewers who want to place bets. The NFL and its gambling partners count on millions of people watching and betting on their games. It’s interesting to see how much closer the scores have gotten when you compare the first half of Super Bowls to those after 9/11:
Super Bowl 1-35: Only 9 games were decided by a touchdown or less, and only 2 games were decided by a single field goal or less. The average win was by 16.7 points, which is more than 2 touchdowns.
Super Bowl 36-51: A whopping 10 out of 16 games were decided by a single touchdown or less, and 5 came down to a field goal or less. The average win was by 8.7 points.
Many people don’t know that over 70% of all games are decided against the spread in the final moments. The odds are so good that bettors often switch between winning and losing depending on what happens in the last moments of the game.
It’s become quite common to see games won in the last couple of minutes, especially in big games.
Ex-NFL Players Confess It’s A Show
Every now and then, a retired player who hasn’t signed any confidentiality agreement with the NFL speaks up about what most of us suspect.
Here are some quotes from players who played in the NFL and experienced the culture and reality of what the NFL represents:
“The NFL is scripted, but they make us sign something, so we can’t go into detail… Tired of holding back… Who wants the full story?” — Former NFL player Benny Cunningham.
“We’re talking about a different NFL now… before it was more about the game. Now it’s such an entertainment business. It’s turning into the WWE really. It’s like the Vince McMahon stuff. Basically, [Roger] Goodell is like Vince McMahon.” — Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas.
“The NFL is like a spectacle of violence, for entertainment, and you’re the actors in it. You’re complicit in that: You put on the uniform. And it’s a trivial thing at its core. It’s make-believe, really. That’s the truth about it.” — Former 49ers linebacker Chris Borland.
“And we all know, now that we’re grown men, that wrestling’s fake. Well, football is not played like it was when I played.” — Retired Houston Oilers RB and Hall of Famer Earl Campbell.
The NFL Is Tied To Gambling
Not long ago, the NFL warned that if sports betting became legal, it could make people doubt the fairness of the game and think that games were fixed. But today, the NFL is closely connected to many betting partners, gambling companies, and casinos. Money can make things messy.
Because gambling is what attracts most fans, games with questionable calls, plays, and endings are seen as evidence that the games are rigged, the outcomes are planned, and all the officials are in on it. It’s understandable why fans might feel this way.
NFL Games And Seasons That Were Rigged
Die-hard NFL fans pay close attention to the game, especially when they’ve got money on the line. Some of them can spot when something doesn’t seem right in a game or a season.
Here are some examples of games and seasons that might have been rigged or where the NFL seemed to want a particular storyline to unfold:
Super Bowl III: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Colts 1969
This game is famous for being one of the biggest upsets in football history and a turning point for the NFL. The AFL-NFL merger’s future was at stake, and the NFL couldn’t afford to let the heavily favored Colts (16-1) win.
A Jets victory would mean at least a billion dollars for NFL owners. So, when Jets quarterback Joe Namath, an 18-point underdog, boldly predicted his team would beat the Colts, no one could have foreseen what happened next.
Not only did the Jets win 16-7, but Namath was named MVP and said, “We overcame our critics,” even though most people expected a 42-13 loss. If there were ever a billion reasons to rig or sway a game, this was it.
Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams
After the tragedy of 9/11, America needed something to lift its spirits and revive patriotism. Who’s the most patriotic NFL team? The New England Patriots. Suddenly, they won a surprising Super Bowl against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, winning 20-17.
One-sided officiating allowed Patriots defensive backs to interfere with the Rams’ wide receivers, leading to Rams MVP quarterback Kurt Warner’s downfall. And Tom Brady, the “Michael Jordan” of football, won his first Super Bowl ring and went on to win six more, even at the age of 44.
Super Bowl XLIV: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it brought immense devastation and loss of life. The city needed hope, and that hope came when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts, defying the odds. It seemed like an inspiring sports story, but was it?
New England Patriots 2017 Season
The whole New England Patriots 2017 season raised eyebrows among fans. The way the officials handled things had people thinking about conspiracies. Take a look and make up your own mind.
NFL Stories Are Almost Too Good To Be True
Every sport has its own stories to tell. Fans love a rags-to-riches tale where an underdog triumphs against all odds, turning it into a Hollywood-worthy narrative depending on how fans react.
The NFL has had some incredible storylines over the years, from the Patriots winning after 9/11 to the Saints’ victory after Hurricane Katrina. The Falcons and the Rams reached the Super Bowl just before moving into their new billion-dollar stadium.
There’s the amazing story of Archie, Peyton, and Eli Manning all finding success as quarterbacks, winning Super Bowls when nobody expected it. The list goes on and sometimes sounds like a fairy tale.
If you want to read a real NFL story that might make you question if what you see on your TV and phone screens is real, these books are worth checking out:
- “The Fix Is In” by Brian Tuohy
- “Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football” by Dan E. Moldea
NFL Team Owner Issues Tanking Orders
One good thing about having a bad season in the NFL (and in most other major U.S. sports) is that the teams with the worst records get the first pick in the draft of talented college players the following year.
In a 58-page complaint filed in February, accusing the NFL of ongoing racial bias, Brian Flores claimed that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross suggested they deliberately lose as many games as possible during his first season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2019.
Flores alleged that Ross told him to “tank” games in exchange for a $100,000 bonus for each loss. Flores refused, and he says that led to his firing, along with a dispute with Ross and the team’s management.
After an investigation, it was found that Dolphins owner Ross was guilty of “suggesting tanking” and tampering by making unauthorized contact with Tom Brady while he was still with the Patriots and with Sean Payton when trying to lure him away from the Saints.
The NFL investigation downplayed the tanking allegations (as Flores didn’t go through with it), and, as usual, a billionaire owner got off lightly. Commissioner Goodell fined Ross $1.5 million and vice-chairman Bruce Beal $500,000, which seemed like a minor punishment to loyal fans.
If you compare it to Calvin Ridley’s one-year suspension for betting $1,500 earlier in the year, it feels like a mere slap on the wrist. Ridley’s suspension is like an $11 million fine, considering his Falcons salary.
Adding to suspicions of rigging, NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell has always struggled to earn credibility. He has a $63 million yearly role taking the heat for billionaire team owners while pretending to care about the NFL’s integrity. Most people aren’t fooled by his act.
Conclusion
Rigged, scripted, or guided, the NFL is a captivating spectacle, and until a high-ranking official comes forward under oath to say it’s rigged, we won’t know for sure. But fans are getting smarter and noticing that some teams seem to get favored when it makes for a better story.
The NFL is entertaining, and while we can’t say with absolute certainty how much of it is real, it doesn’t mean we won’t tune in for the next “game” because it’s America’s best show.
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