Is the NFL Rigging Games for the Chiefs?

Christopher Lambert

Staff Writer

No, the National Football League (NFL) is not conspiring to rig games for the Kansas City Chiefs. As a New England Patriots fan, I would love to say they are and that the Chiefs dynasty needs way more help than we ever did. After watching the Super Bowl, I think it is safe to say that there is no strategy rigging the games for the Chiefs.

I am taking a class on the economics of sports and the data and content that we learned shows signs that the NFL would lose revenue if they constantly had the same team winning. Fans would lose interest, as they would already know the outcome of the game and there would be no point in watching. It is the same way if a team is constantly losing all the time; fans lose interest and the league and the teams would lose revenue. Haven’t we been through this before? Looking back at the Patriots dynasty, we have been accused of having our games rigged, but if that were true, why would we have to go through spying on other teams? If we knew we would win the game, why cheat or even risk getting caught cheating?

The 2010s Patriots dynasty is a huge example of what I just explained. The Patriots were constantly winning and beating teams, so the NFL investigated us and said the reason we won the American Football Conference (AFC) championship in 2014 was because we deflated footballs. Simple science disproved that, but regardless, they suspended the patriots best weapon in Tom Brady. The league did not want to risk losing revenue and decided to turn on New England. A deflated football was not the reason LeGarrette Blount ran for 148 yards and achieved three touchdowns. His team was just better.

Now, we’re in the middle, or hopefully, the end, of the Chiefs dynasty. When stakes are high and games are close, every call matters. Whether it’s a pass, interference or roughing the passer, players who are good are watched more closely and are watched at an extremely high rate of speed. Think about this, when you are watching the Chiefs, who are you focused on? I doubt it’s on the offensive line or the quarterback spy linebacker. You are watching Patrick Mahomes closely and you are watching the receivers and playmakers closely, just like the officials. The officials see something and they throw a flag. It is as simple as that.

As an official myself, I understand why officials miss calls or view a call a certain way. Your perception can never be perfect. Are the players perfect? Did anyone else see the horrendous drop from DeAndre Hopkins in the Super Bowl? Human error is a part of the game. They will never be perfect. However, I believe with the development of the flop in leagues across the world, this has influenced young players, like Mahomes, and he uses it to his advantage. But so do numerous other players, like the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, Josh Allen.

In conclusion, through watching hours of football games across all the teams in the league, the calls the Chiefs get happen to other teams all the time. Having a generational quarterback causes a lot of high stress reactions and not a lot of logical thinking. Officials miss calls all the time. The league wants to appeal to fans and wants them to watch, and having different teams from different places draws attention and most importantly, money. Based on studies that I have seen in my class, the league tries its best to make it as competitive as possible. Some players are just better, and as much as it hurts to watch another dynasty, they just happen to win games better than anyone in the league currently. When they need a touchdown most, they find a way to get it done with scheme and skill. The NFL is not rigging games in favor of a team that 31 other franchises do not like to watch.