NFL Denies Referee Conspiracy
There is growing evidence that NFL referees have been instructed to make calls – particularly pass interference calls and false start calls – to control the outcomes of NFL games. The NFL vehemently denies these accusations, but the data are very clear. The NFL knows the outcomes that will maximize television revenues as well as ticket and clothing sales, and they are determined to make sure these outcomes happen.
Our operatives have managed to make contact with people at Black Rock Big Data Analytics who provide services to the NFL. None of these people would speak on the record, but they provided various insights. A key manager said, “Keep in mind that this is all about entertainment, not athletics. We are focused on earnings per share, not Hall of Fame inductions. Our goal is to sell beer, pickup trucks, and game shirts.”
We asked, “What does this mean operationally?” She responded, “The Patriots and Panthers were undefeated until recently. We maximized the sales of game shirts, and then we needed these teams to lose because there were no more shirts to sell.” She continued, “We instructed the referees to make sure these teams lost.” They delivered, sales improved, and the referees got their bonuses.
“Doesn’t this conflict with the whole spirit of the game?” we asked. The response was simply, “College and pro sports are the essence of corruption, exploiting talented athletes for maximal corporate earnings.” So, we asked, “Does it not matter that millions of people are totally focused on their teams and their success?” The response was simple, “Of course this matters. Our goal is to maximize the percent of their income that ends up in the NFL coffers.”
Finally, our contacts added, “You realize that the whole athletics enterprise is focused on exploiting talented athletes, university presidents, and the general public to fill corporate coffers at the expense of the health and well-being of athletics and academia. The idea of a student athlete is a farce. All that matters is earnings per share.”
So, we asked, how far might you take this idea? “Well, if we look at ultimate fighting, the extreme is death of the competitors. This could generate enormous amounts of revenue.” We could not help but ask, “Is this ethical?” The answer was simple, “All that matters is earnings per share. Dead athletes are just an insurance premium payment.”
