{"id":6656,"date":"2022-09-10T22:50:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T22:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americansportsplanet.com\/?p=6656"},"modified":"2022-09-22T09:51:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T09:51:54","slug":"are-nfl-games-rigged-heres-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americansportsplanet.com\/are-nfl-games-rigged-heres-the-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Are NFL Games Rigged? (Here’s The Truth)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editorial credit: Steve Jacobson \/ Shutterstock.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we look at NFL as a company, compared to NFL as a sport, certain lights flicker alarmingly red when the question is raised, “Are NFL games rigged?” Many fans will defend the legitimacy of the NFL organization, as they love the sport so much, while others casually point to the obvious ways how they manage to get away with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many fans believe that some NFL games are rigged and cleverly orchestrated through referees who assist certain teams with the help of penalties. A few ex-NFL players have alluded to the fact that the NFL is a show focused on entertainment rather than a real sport.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To question the legitimacy of America’s favorite sport is frowned upon, and most die-hard fans will brush it off as a conspiracy theory before happily placing their bets with NFL’s betting partners. Why would you need to rig the most watched sport in the first place? And how is it done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are NFL Games Rigged?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This question divides the loyal fanbase of the NFL. A big part claims that to rig NFL games would require too big a participation from too many role players and happily practice cognitive dissonance<\/a> to protect the belief that NFL is a clean sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose you don’t believe that any major professional sports leagues would ever try to control, script, or rig the outcome of one of their games. In that case, you need to look at the following information and make your own conclusion if the sport we love is primarily “show business” before it’s a sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL Is A Sports Entertainment Company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a lawsuit<\/a> against the NFL in 2010 over licensed merchandise like caps and t-shirts, the NFL argued that it should be treated as a single entity (NFL clubs are members of a unit that share revenue) rather than 32 individual franchises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the dispute progressed, the NFL maintained its legal stance as a “sports entertainment” company, not a legitimately competitive “sport.” One such “collegiate sport” is college football. Professional wrestling (WWE) and roller derby are the only examples of “sports entertainment” businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFL Lawyer Gregg H. Levy stated during the trial, “long as the NFL clubs are members of a unit; if they compete as a unit in the entertainment marketplace…they should be deemed a single entity not subjected to antitrust law.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL Doesn\u2019t Employ Referees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The NFL doesn’t employ referees. Why would they? It’s much easier to blame the officials for a “poor” display where a couple of dubious calls ultimately cost one team the game. Referees are kept separate from the NFL, giving them a shiny cushion of plausible deniability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, referees and their crew (7 officials on match day) are reviewed after the conclusion of a season. Referees who make “bad” calls, controversial calls, and who fail to make the correct calls in the crucial dying moments of a match are typically not suspended or fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL is the only sports league that doesn’t employ its referees, which means little accountability from their side when these part-time employees make a \u201cwrong call\u201d on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL Shares Its Revenue With All The Teams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The NFL has drafts, is protected by antitrust exemptions, and shares its revenue with all the teams in the league. The NFL shares over 70% of its massive $10 + billion yearly income with all the participating teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ticket sales get split into 66% for the home team, with the other 34% being shared with the rest of the franchises. No league distributes as much of its income as the NFL. It makes business sense to comply with what the NFL asks of you as a team (franchise), seeing that they are responsible for most of the income generated and distributed to the 32 teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If NFL teams were independent entities, as they want you to believe, none of the above would exist, as the NFL structure is the opposite of how a free-market company would operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal Laws Are Not Against Scripted Games<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Sports Bribery Act of 1964 was created to combat the influence of organized crime and the gambling industry on sports, stating the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Whoever carries into effect, attempts to carry into effect, or conspires with any other person to carry into effect any scheme in commerce to influence, in any way, by bribery any sporting contest, with the knowledge that the purpose of such scheme is to influence by bribery that contest, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word “bribery” is the operative term in this statute. It is not a violation of the law for a league to order an employee (official, coach, or player) to influence or control the result of a game. For the same reason, the Sports Bribery Act does not apply if a referee or player unilaterally chooses to shave points or manipulate a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the Sports Bribery Act has never been used to make an arrest in connection with a game involving the National Football League, the NBA, Major League Baseball, or the National Hockey League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ticketholders Have No Right To A Legitimate Contest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell destroyed the evidence, the New England Patriots were found cheating in 2007 by videotaping their opponents’ formations and coaching signals (<\/a>Spygate<\/a>). It turned out to be something they’d been doing for a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carl Mayer, a season-ticket holder for the Jets, filed a lawsuit against the Patriots seeking compensation for himself and his fellow Jets supporters. He went on to lose the case, as the NFL claimed, and the court agreed, that fans who pay for a ticket to an NFL game have the absolute minimum contractual entitlement to a seat from which they may see two teams play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Patriots used illegal methods to get the victory, then so be it. It implies that the NFL would be in the clear, legally speaking, if any of their games were manipulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL Puts On A Show<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whatever your personal feeling might be, rigged or scripted or just a case of favoritism to certain popular teams to fit a certain narrative. One thing is certain the NFL knows how to put together a live \u201cpresentation\u201d that entertains hundreds of millions during the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close games enhance the excitement and drama and result in more betting viewers. The NFL and its gambling partners bank on millions of people watching and placing bets on their games. It’s funny how much closer the score lines have grown when you compare the first half of Super Bowls and those post 9\/11:<\/p>\n\n\n\n