The NFL: All about the Benjamins Baby

In case you missed it, there was a controversial finish to the Steelers-Chargers game the other day. Trailing by one, the Chargers tried one of those wacky lateral plays. LaDainian Tomlinson tried to lateral to Chris Chambers, but Troy Polamalu scooped up the ball and scored making it 17-10, game over...or so we thought. The refs, for no apparent reason, decided to review the play, even though the game was over. They ruled that the Chargers committed an illegal forward lateral and that the ball was ruled dead, the touchdown wiped out and the game ended Pittsburgh 11, San Diego 10. The refs ruling was incorrect. They admitted so after the game. So what's the big deal? Pittsburgh was favored by 4.5. TD stands, Steelers cover. TD gets wiped out they don't.

WebWire says that $100 million was bet on the game nationwide. With the Steelers not covering on the final play of the game, $32 million that should have gone to gamblers went into the pockets of bookies. That is a staggering number no doubt. Now, it must be noted the $100 million number is probably exaggerated just a tad, nevertheless the NFL is leaping to action.

Mike Pereira, NFL VP of officiating, says a change could be coming. The current replay rules say that once the Referee leaves the replay booth on the field he cannot return and consult with the official in the booth. The NFL is considering changing this rule to allow the official to return and consult with the booth official. That seems reasonable. More interestingly, this rule could be changed during the season by the time the playoffs start.

So let me get this straight. A bunch of money changes hands, at the detriment to gamblers, and the benevolent NFL leaps to action to provide some oversight to the replay system to make sure calls are correct. However, the Falcons lose a game to Philadelphia because the officials made an incorrect call that AFFECTED THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME and the Falcons couldn't challenge it because of the rules of replay and the league decides to address the situation after the season.

The Falcons called their last time out with 3 minutes to go and there is no booth review until the two minute mark. It was INCREDIBLY flukey that the Falcons needed a challenge and didn't have one to use and as far as I know that scenario hadn't happened in the NFL since they brought back replay. However, how often would a replay official need to go back to the booth to re-confirm with the official in the booth? a couple of times a season maybe?

This sends a bad, but predictable, message to NFL teams. I'm not saying we needed a congressional hearing over the Falcons loss to the Eagles and I'm fine with the league looking at it after the season. And don't get me wrong, I have the Steelers defense and had that 6 points I had taken away for the defensive TD cost me my fantasy match up I'd have been plenty peeved, but is this serious enough to warrant corrective action immediately. It says to teams that the NFL cares more about the gamblers than it does the teams.

I get it. Gambling drives up interest in the NFL. Betting on games, and especially the advent of fantasy football leagues many of which are money leagues, has helped the NFL boom into the dominant sports league it has become. I just think it's interesting that the NFL would look after the interests of the audience more than they would the interests of their product.