Seen this on a few other subs, just curious where most of y’all stand on this. Currently, going into the Super Bowl, three quarters of fans think the league is “rigged” now whether that’s due to sports betting, crooked refs, Illuminati, Taylor Swift, etc. is up for debate.
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Rigging incompetence is very difficult…former Titans Fan
I paid the refs. Taylor Swift told me to. Ask me anything.
Why would they have the exact same teams win all the time? That’s the worst thing they could possibly rig up if they were rigging it.
Think it’s been pretty clear the biases towards the Chiefs. Taylor false starts every play with no recourse. Mahomes is literally risking other players’ health with his fake slide and fake going out of bounds.
Not rigged, but biased in favor of protecting their superstars and the better teams. If KC was a 5 win team I don’t think we would even notice any sort of preferential treatment. I don’t think the NFL cares if Philly or KC or LA or Buffalo or San Fran or Seattle or Tennessee wins and I don’t think the refs have instructions to “help” certain teams win.
But I think there is an inherent bias in the refs and pressure for them to help protect the talent. So players like Mahomes, Allen, etc. get more favorable calls than others. And I think refs are all around inept rather than malicious when they miss calls or make bad ones
Too many moving variables and people involved to be rigged. However, I do believe that ALL professional Sport’s leagues have an agenda that is passed down to the Umps/Officials/Refs in order to achieve a favorable outcome in terms of viewership and popularity. Since I’m an A’s/Kings/Titans fan, I will probably never be anywhere near a Championship Parade in my lifetime. ha, ha
I mean most people are dipshit conspiracy theorists now
Not rigged but when a team is really good all the time and the refs seem to get worse when they call their games it gets old. I’m glad the “rigged” accusations keep happening because it feels like the nfl is finally going to address the ref issue.
With the sports betting boom recently I do believe some refs are getting greased. It’s starting to happen in CFB too
I don’t think it’s completely pre determined or anything, but I also think certain star players and teams get different treatment. I also think the officials act in the best interest in the league when it comes to calls they make that can affect outcomes. I also think, especially with the way sports gambling has invaded mainstream sports so much the last few years, there probably is some point fixing going on on the inside. It seems especially obvious in football and basketball
Titans don’t get the same penalties that other teams get sadly
73% of followers of a small page already pushing conspiracies believe it’s rigged..
Stay in school kids
Yup, since that halftime run against us in Kansas City. The league decided at that moment for Mahomes over Henry. At least, that’s my perception.
26.2% are Chief fans.
Not rigged but stars do get calls. In every sport.
I dont believe the NFL is rigged or scripted. There are too many things that go on in the games that would be impossible to script.
If you do believe the NFL is rigged/scripted, I have some oceanfront property out near Murfreesboro I’d like to sell you.
The Ringer has a good article up right now breaking down this very question about the Chiefs.
It is.
100% rigged
Absolutely not.
This is annoying all people talk about. Bad calls happen all the time. Its a fast game with so much at stake.
Also, KC is more watched than most because they’ve won 2 in a row, and they play majority of their games in primetime or slots (like 3pm) where less games are on. More eye balls = more people complaining. There’s bad calls and good calls in EVERY game.
What baffles me is how many people think its rigged, yet they will still watch it.
There’s players and coaches all fighting for jobs.
This is laughable. But then again, majority of America got sold snakeskin oil in November so I guess it’s not far fetched that so many people think it is.
You want facts or to believe bullshit? Here’s FACTS
https://www.theringer.com/2025/02/04/nfl/do-the-refs-help-the-kansas-city-chiefs-ringer-investigation-super-bowl-lix-patrick-mahomes
Also, I hate KC but also cmon. Stop being a dumbass.
There’s levels of “rigged”.
[Saw a stat the other day that a team leading by a TD at the start of the 4th has an 85% chance of winning. ](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/win_prob.cgi?request=1&score_differential=7&vegas_line=&quarter=4&minutes=15&seconds=&field=team&yds_from_goal=&down=1&yds_to_go=)
Now I’m not saying there is anything nefarious happeneing. Just that its faaaarrrrrr easier to manipulate a game with just a call or two EARLY in a game. Thats literally 1 call before the 4th Q that can change and outcome from 50% to 85%
I do believe Goodell and company made up the “script” memes for message control. It takes the ideal of small manipulations (for player protection at the least, to specific/strategic penalty manipulation for for a desired monetary outcome) and brings them to absurdity so that no one would believe them.
No one on their right mind would think the league was 100% scripted.
The script bashing was so widespread that we heard announcers and insiders talking about how crazy it was that an entire league of players and coaches were in on it. That guys would intentionally drop passes or were so athletic that they could pinpoint an important pass from 50 yards just for the drama… it approached the “he doth protest too much” levels. Follow that up with insiders tweeting f’d up and low-logic bar graphs about why the league isnt cheating just feeds into that idea more.
If the NBA commish is willing to say the ideal playoff scenario is “Lakers vs Lakers” because of profits, and there has been ref cheating and some historical player point shaving there… along with an absurd trade that just happened to aid that Lakers team – then its reasonable to question why greed wouldnt be a part of it.
Again, not saying it IS happening.. just that anyone that believes the NFL is above greed and its pitfalls that can come with that is naive IMO.
Bill Burr had it right: it’s not rigging, it’s massaging. And that works to much the same effect.
After the Vikings game where the bullshit call was called… Callahan called out how bullshit the call was…
And the REFS CONTINUED TO CALL BULLSHIT CALLS AS PUNISHMENT FOR CALLAHAN CALLING BULLSHIT ON THEIR CALLS
I say FUCK THE NFL
There are obviously a lot of stupid people in this country.
Define “Rigged.”
Like, do i believe there’s a script and the outcomes of any season are pre-determined? No.
That said, it’s hard to watch the NFL and not believe there’s clear favoritism for certain Players/Programs reenforced by the Refs.
That doesn’t mean that the favorites are incapable of losing, but it’s more unlikely when the League’s got it’s proverbial thumb on the scale
The funny thing is that if too many people think it’s rigged, they might start rigging it the other way to get people to stop thinking it’s rigged.
I don’t believe in coincidence – Batman
He always knew when something was up.
If it was rigged a team like the lions, packers or vikings would be playing the Chiefs this year. No one gives a shit about the eagles outside of philly, hell the other half of the state is all steeler fans.
Honestly, I was already looking forward to the UFL but even moreso now, especially when you consider how much more transparent and better executed their refereeing is.
This is a bogus stat lol. If 3/4 people actually thought the league was rigged the sport would be dead.
As for the actual topic, no, it’s not. Refs are just human and screw up. Sometimes because of emotions, sometimes because of just missing a call.
Sure…but not the NFL itself…the betting makes it rigged…if everyone stops placing bets it will likely go back to a “fair” game
I’ll give an example: Josh Dobbs’ forward pass that was ruled a “fumble” (which was returned for a touchdown) to help the Jags win a couple of years ago has happened multiple times in other games with Mahomes and Josh Allen and called a forward pass in a much less obvious situation. I can tell you for a fact that the refs make decisions based on what will make the NFL the most money.
There is a bias that exists and the league and refs may not even realize it. Or they do and play dumb…
73.8% of fans think their feelings are more important than facts then
I think that when good teams get calls it just feels worse. ‘They’re already good and of course they also get xyz call”.
It would be an impossible task to rig the NFL.
To some degree, definitely. Judgement calls are absolutely weighted in favor of the marketable teams. “You just say that because you don’t like X team- see there are calls that go the other way too”
When significant calls happen at significant times & they always go against some teams or for certain other teams, it seems very evident that some get the special sauce. Those teams **are** good (but they’re getting that extra benefit of the doubt, when there should be *zero* need for benefit of doubts- we have instant replay that allows us to see in real time where refs screw up calls, almost on purpose, but always at significant points in games where certain teams compete).
I don’t believe 73.8% of fans believe the NFL is rigged. That’s a bullshit poll that’s intended to generate clicks/views.
There’s no way the NFL could be rigged without someone blowing the whistle on it because too many people would have to be involved. Also, do you have any idea how big the egos of billionaires are? There’s no fucking way owners are rigging anything for a small market team in the middle the country.
If there’s any funny business going on, it’s an individual ref who has gambling debts and is throwing flags (or not throwing flags) to shave or add points. Think something similar to that NBA ref who was sentenced to prison.
Sports are not rigged. I do believe an official, umpire or referee can be bought. Look at your own lives do you make the perfect decision every second of every minute of every hour?
Not rigged, but there is absolutely a human bias, and I’m not sure the different crews even realize it. But you see calls lean unfairly one way or another all the time. The Kansas City / Buffalo game as terribly officiated. I’m not watching the Super Bowl. I need a break from football.
Anyone here remember that Wrestler slapping John Stossel? Welcome to the NFL!!
Yes, it’s absolutely fixed. On the player level, yes, but isolated (friends with sports betting apps, etc.), on the official level, same, at the executive level, whatever the algorithm says is most profitable, is.
The main reason I give credence to the idea is because of the prevalence of gambling. And of course viewership and popularity too. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but I always notice that tight plays tend to be given to the chiefs on the field more often than not. Then when the replay is inconclusive, the call on the field stands.
If the nfl was going to rig for monetary/viewership/ratings reasons, why in the fuck would they make the Jets, Giants, Bears, and usually the Rams and Chargers suck? So that the prevailing teams are in the markets of…Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore, Cincinnati?
All the biggest market teams have sucked BALLS for years now and the many of the smallest markets are dominating. It may *look* like there’s a lot of Chiefs and Bills fans out there because they get so much airtime but I promise the NFL would make way *more* money if the Cowboys, Jets, Bears etc. were winning more and in the playoffs more.
If KC wins, expect that number to go up.
It’s not rigged, but it doesn’t matter. If the majority of your fans think the sport is rigged, you have an existential problem.
I didn’t always believe it, but I’ve just seen too many missed calls, mistakes, phantom calls, etc. that turn the tide of the game. It’s been proven to happen at the highest level of every sport, and yet folks don’t believe that it happens in the NFL? laughable
With the amount of money involved, I would guarantee there are constant efforts to at least affect point spreads.
I liken it to a UFC/big time prize fight. If it goes to the judges score cards the champ is going to get the favour.
Gotta knock em out.