New Study Reveals Bias In NFL Officiating For Certain Teams

You know the feeling...that moment you’re on your couch, absolutely losing your mind because you are one hundred percent positive the refs are trying to screw your team. A flag comes out of nowhere to kill a big play, or the refs completely swallow their whistles on a call a blind man could have made. You start yelling that the whole thing is rigged...

In Louisiana, Saints fans know that's not just a feeling, it's a core memory. Or memories for the amount of times the NFL has made season-changing rulings against New Orleans. Even worse, when they don't make a call, and it derails your Super Bowl run.

But now, a wild new study from a school in Texas just dropped and it pretty much says what every Saints fan has screamed for years: you’re not just being paranoid. That's right, some researchers over at UTEP were able to quantify your suspicions with science.

A University Study Just Called Out the NFL

And look, this isn't just some guy yelling on a sports talk show. This is a real-deal study from a couple of doctors at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They dug through the stats from twenty full seasons of NFL football, focusing on those judgment calls... like offensive holding. What they found points a giant finger right at the league’s golden boys, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Their research showed that the Chiefs' offensive line gets away with holding way more than they should, especially when the lights are brightest in the playoffs. The study doesn't chalk it up to luck. Instead, it points to something the researchers call “financial pressure” messing with the calls on the field.

Are NFL Flags All About the Money?

The study isn't saying refs are on the take. It's more about them just knowing, deep down, what's good for the league's wallet. The NFL is a business, and right now, business is booming for the Chiefs, especially with Taylor Swift on their side.

READ MORE: Taylor Swift's Bossier City Love Affair

You've got Patrick Mahomes, the face of the league. You've got Travis Kelce and the whole Taylor Swift thing, which has brought in millions of new viewers. When the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl, the ratings are through the roof... and merch is selling like crazy. The study basically argues that this creates a situation where refs might, even without realizing it, make calls that help the league’s biggest cash cow.

Who Dat Nation Was Right All Along When It Comes To Bad Calls

For anyone in the Who Dat Nation, this whole thing is just a big "We told you so". Fans don’t need a study to know how one terrible call can change history forever. The NOLA No-Call in the 2019 NFC Championship Game...that's not just a bad memory; it's a scar on the soul of every Saints fan. Even non-Saints fans felt robbed...convinced the league wanted the big-market Los Angeles team in the Super Bowl.

This UTEP study just feels like somebody finally printed the receipts. It shows there’s actual data to back up that feeling that the game isn't always on the level.

So next time you're losing your mind over a bad call, remember there are some academics in a lab who are looking at the numbers and saying, "Yep, looks fishy to us, too".