Is The NFL Fixed?

Back on December 7 the Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Denver Broncos in an AFC West divisional showdown. The Broncos were in command and during the game’s waning moments with time for just one more play, the Raiders were trailing 24-14. The Raiders had no hope for a win. Nevertheless, Pete Carroll sent out Daniel Carlson to attempt a 46-yard field goal. Carroll’s decision sparked the fire of conspiracy theorists who claim that the NFL is fixed.

Fueling the fire even more were the betting lines on the game. The Broncos were 7 ½ point favorites and the over/under was 40 ½. Carlson’s successful attempt made the final 24-17. The Raiders covered and the game flipped from an under total (38) to an over number (41) just because the head coach of a hopeless team decided to kick a field goal that had no bearing on the game’s outcome – no bearing on any potential point differential tiebreaker.

BAD BEAT OF THE YEAR

The Raiders kicked a field goal as time expired to cut the lead to 7.

The Broncos were 7.5-point favorites and the total was 40.5 pic.twitter.com/owmkF86OAu

— Covers (@Covers) December 8, 2025

A team that calls Vegas home swings betting outcomes on one meaningless field goal.

The NFL has only themselves to blame for the “NFL is fixed” theorists. For decades the league didn’t want to have a team in Las Vegas to avoid any ties to gambling to protect the sanctity of the league – to preserve its integrity. Now, the league is not only in bed with Vegas, but they are also having affairs with a slew of betting apps. Roger Greedell’s avaricious ways are as transparent as a see-through dress.

So when a questionable decision from the head coach of a team going nowhere decides to kick a field goal that only has bearing on betting lines, suspicious minds are triggered. But that said, there’s no fix. That’s as ridiculous as takes like that below, from an influencer wannabe like Amanda Vance. (you’re welcome Amanda)

Steelers / Ravens will play for the division next week because it’s the NFL SCRIPT https://t.co/jwEScZc3Tu pic.twitter.com/2o4QXeK7ll

— Amanda Vance (@amandacvance) December 28, 2025

Look, each team has 70 healthy players (not including those on IR), 17 of which are on the practice squad. That’s no less than 2,240 players. Each team organization has hundreds of employees. Then there are former players, many of which have just “graduated” to the next stage of their lives. Maybe some even have an ax to grind with the league and would like nothing more than to seek vengeance and exposing an alleged fix just might provide a twisted pleasure.

Now let’s mix in social media and the media that camps out at 32 team headquarters across the league. If the league is fixed, how could they possibly keep a lid on proof that it is in fact fixed? How do you keep that under wraps?

It’s impossible.

And then consider all that the league stands to lose by fixing games. A fixed NFL might look a lot like the WWE. If fixed, TV audiences would shrink and then so too would advertising revenues, the lifeblood of the NFL. Fantasy football would become less attractive, possibly even obsolete. Gambling apps would collapse as would a significant sector of Vegas. Games would have to shift to arenas instead of stadiums given the expected crash in attendance. TV shows, podcasts and blogs that cover the league would be filed under science fiction.

Class action lawsuits would emerge from bettors and fans. The NFL would lose its anti-trust exemption which would end revenue sharing amongst teams and make the NFL look much more like MLB.

The NFL would risk it all just to fix games?

Yeah, right!

And I’m the Easter Bunny…

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