Here is a little more:
The NFL as One Entity and Not 32 Individual Teams
-Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 gives
anti-trust exemptions to professional sports leagues such as the NFL, which opened the door for joint TV agreements, which consisted of one "package" for the entire NFL
-NFL has
tried to argue in the past that it is one entity, and not 32 separate teams, in order to get broader anti-trust exemptions.
Why the NFL Can Legally Fix its Own Games
-Sports Bribery Illegal
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18 U.S. Code § 224 - Bribery in sporting contests (part a): "Whoever carries into effect, attempts to carry into effect, or conspires with any other person to carry into effect any scheme in commerce to influence, in any way, by bribery any sporting contest, with knowledge that the purpose of such scheme is to influence by bribery that contest, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."
-It may be illegal for the Mob or Vegas to pay someone off to fix a game, but the NFL, as a business, can legally order its employees to fix its own games.
-As employees of the NFL, which acts as one entity, the players, coaches & referees have to fix the outcomes in order for the league to maximize fan interest, ratings, profits, and to have the best matchups & storylines.
How the Owners Benefit from Game Fixing
-Contrary to public belief, the goal for players, coaches & owners is not to win the Super Bowl, but to make the most money
-Revenue Sharing is split evenly between the 32 owners (75-80% of total profits)
-Included in this system is money from TV deals & merchandise sales
-Revenue Sharing, by fans, is seen as giving the league more parity & competition by giving small market teams money, but it works quite the opposite; it allows small market owners to maximize their profits, no matter if their team wins or loses.
-Revenue Sharing allows owners of small-market teams to benefit from having bigger brands such as the Steelers, Giants, Packers, etc win the Super Bowl instead of their own team, because it maximizes their own profits.
-For example, in the 2008 Super Bowl, the Arizona Cardinals were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. The owners of the Cardinals, the Bidwill Family, would want the game to be fixed against his own team, because the Steelers would sell more merchandise than the Cardinals if they won the Super Bowl. Because of revenue sharing, Michael Bidwill gets a chunk of that money that came from merchandise sales.
-The owners of teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers, etc, benefit when teams such as the Chicago Bears, NY Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots win, because those brands generate the most fan interest & the highest ratings.
-By having the best match ups and the most popular teams winning, since revenue sharing is split evenly between the owners, the league as a whole wants to put the bigger brands & the big markets in a position to succeed in order to maximize ratings & profits for all 32 owners. In this instance, the NFL completely sees itself as one entity; not 32 individual teams, but one product, which is NFL football.
How the Players & Coaches Benefit from Game Fixing
-Each year, as the game gets bigger & fan interest increases, players & coaches end up making more money.
-Players & Coaches make more money through higher TV ratings, which allows them to make more money.
-What results in higher TV ratings? Close games, parity, playoff spots up for grabs in the final week of the season, having the best story lines & match ups in the postseason, and having bigger brands and the best QB's win the Super Bowl.
-In this way, players & coaches of small market teams benefit when bigger brands win instead of their own teams, and when the best story lines are occurring.
-By having the best match ups & story lines in the postseason, TV ratings are maximized through having the most fan interest. So therefore, the players & coaches are in the fix together, in order to make themselves the most money.
-For example, the Atlanta Falcons could have made it to the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens. If the 49ers won against the Falcons, it would have introduced the story line of two competing brother head coaches in the Super Bowl. This, along with the Ray Lewis retirement story line, would have maximized fan interest & ratings in the Super Bowl, which would allow players & coaches on the Falcons to make more money in the future. A Ravens-Falcons SB wouldn't have been as interesting as a 49ers-Ravens Super Bowl.
http://www.tonytellingitlikeitis.com/blog/The-NFL-is-Fixed--Scripted-55545