How the NFL Just (Secretly) Saved Players Millions 💰

Life is full of cosmic ironies. For example, last week, I mentioned a creator who asked his audience whether he should take a gambling sponsorship and the negative feedback he got.

Well, this week, I’ve been put in the same predicament. A 5-figure brand deal from a major sports betting company, and I’ve been going back and forth on it for a few days. I’ve come to a decision on it, and I’ll explain my thinking at the end.

In today’s newsletter:

🗞 The Big Story: How the NFL Just (Secretly) Saved Players Millions

📉 Biggest Loser: Why Do Football Players Wear Two Mouthguards?

🏆 Winner’s Circle: Debunking the Lambeau Leap

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The NFL just quietly passed one of its smartest rule changes in decades, but for some reason no one seems to know anything about it.

Constant Repercussions: Every week, the NFL hands out fines based on a predetermined list of infractions agreed to in the CBA that automatically increases by 3% every year. For example, if you bump an official, that’s a $41,907 fine this year. Lead with your head? That’ll be a $23,882 fine.

And these fines add up.

For example, last season, the league handed out over 400 fines, collecting over $8.5 million from players. Now, for what it’s worth, the money collected is split equally between the Players’ Union and charitable causes; however, thanks to a new rule going into effect this season, that pot of money might also be getting cut in half.

That’s because this year, the league is focusing heavily on these five penalties:

Strikes System: Under the new system, every time a player commits one of these fouls, they’ll receive a “point” on their record, and if they get three “points” in the same season, then they’ll automatically be suspended for one game and get fined accordingly.

Players can still appeal these fines, but if they end the season with 2 or more points on their record, then they’ll carry them over into the next season. Meaning some players might start 2027 just one penalty away from suspension.

But this is where the new rule actually gets good.

Silver Lining: Previously, if a player accidentally lowered their head during a run or grabbed a player from behind to tackle him, they would still be fined the full amount. But starting this year, if a player is only fined once during the season for any one of those five offenses, they’ll get 50% of their money back at the end of the year.

And if they get fined once for something outside of those five categories, like roughing the passer, they’ll get 100% of their money back. Plus, that single “point” on their record will drop back down to zero to start the following season.

I guess the only downside is that a lot less money will go to charity.

Why do some football players wear two mouthguards?

The short answer is style, but the real answer is actually a lot more complicated than you might think.

Look Good, Play Good: The trend of wearing multiple, colorful mouthguards started sometime in the early 2020s, first in college, and then eventually making its way to the NFL, with players seemingly deciding their colors and placements for a wide range of reasons, including the Christmas spirit, that week’s opponent, or simply “trying to be a trendsetter.”

But why wear two of them?

Well, the truth is, in the NFL, players aren’t actually required to wear a mouthguard at all, so it seems like the decision to wear two is as much about “changing up the drip” as it is about safety.

However, I’d argue that there’s actually a much deeper meaning to all of this.

“No Fun League”: In the NFL, players follow strict guidelines on what they can and cannot wear. For example, cleats, socks, and gloves must all be either white, black, or a pre-approved team color; they can’t wear any custom gear, and they can’t even show a single inch of their legs without getting fined. Meanwhile, in college, players are restricted to wearing only the gear their school’s apparel sponsor sends them.

However, for some reason, at both levels, there are almost no rules about what a mouthguard has to look like. In fact, all the NFL rulebook says is that they can’t display any “non-football messages.” That’s it.

So really, if a player wants to express themself creatively, their only option is a mouthguard. And as smaller brands have started recognizing this loophole, it’s led to crazier and crazier designs and colors on the field at every level of football.

The only question now is, how many mouthguards is too many?

Why is jumping into the stands banned at every NFL stadium except for one?

Well, the short answer is tradition; however, the real answer is actually a lot more controversial.

League Favorites: During week 4 of the 2017 NFL season, Aaron Jones celebrated a touchdown with his first-career Lambeau Leap, which Jim Nantz and Tony Romo quickly pointed out “has been outlawed everywhere” but “grandfathered in” at Lambeau Field.

However, that’s not entirely true.

Birth of a Tradition: The first Lambeau Leap actually happened back in 1993. The Packers were leading the Los Angeles Raiders 14-0 in the 4th quarter when Raiders running back Randy Jordan fumbled the ball directly into Reggie White’s hands.

However, as White tried to run to the end zone, he was quickly tackled out of bounds; before he hit the ground, he tossed the ball back to safety Leroy Butler, who scored and jumped directly into the stands, marking the first-ever Lambeau Leap.

Now, when you look back at the play, you’ll actually realize that the broadcast clearly shows White stepping out of bounds before tossing the ball to Butler. The Raiders also argued that the pass should have been called incomplete to begin with.

But since the league didn’t have instant replay yet, the call stood, and a tradition was born. However, it was banned almost immediately.

Buzzkill: That’s because, in the early 2000s, the NFL believed that touchdown celebrations had gotten out of control, so in 2006 they created a rule banning “excessive celebrations,” which were defined as any prolonged or premeditated act, including those involving:

Now, leaping into the stands clearly falls into this category, but not wanting to remove celebrations from the game entirely, the owners grandfathered in spikes, dunks, spins, dances, and, of course, the Lambeau Leap.

A Well-Deserved Homecoming: And even after dunks were banned in 2014, the league once again grandfathered in the Lambeau Leap as long as only one player jumps into the stands, which naturally upset a lot of players and fans who felt like the Packers were getting special treatment.

Still, even that didn’t last long.

Because in 2017, the league relaxed its touchdown celebration rules, once again allowing group celebrations, using the ball as a prop, and celebrating on the ground. And even though jumping into the stands isn’t specifically outlined as being “allowed,” given the fact that the league hasn’t fined anyone for it in 10 years… I’m going to assume that Lambeau Field isn’t the only place you can do it anymore.

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👋🏻 Happy Friday!

Ok, let’s just get this out of the way: I’m taking the gambling partnership.

For context, here’s what I said just last week on the subject:

Adam has positioned his page as a sort of “anti-ESPN,” but taking a deal with a sports betting company feels like something an ESPN-type brand would do.

Not to mention, it’s not the kind of content Adam makes. That’s not to say he can’t pivot, but there’s a high likelihood that the more “forced” he feels to make the content, the worse it’ll perform, which could affect the rest of his content.

Now, I’m not in the boat that “nothing about sports gambling is positive.” I’ll happily put $5 on a parlay I made with my friends on any given Sunday, but I do understand the consumer frustration with sports betting ads seemingly taking over their attention.

One final note: I don’t know which sports betting company approached Adam, but I think that matters when deciding whether to take this deal. No creator should ever risk looking like a sellout for a brand no one has ever heard of; that’ll only compound the negative sentiment coming your way.

My final verdict: don’t take the deal.”

Now, I weighed these factors myself (how will this affect my brand positioning, will the content feel “forced,” will this hurt my other content?), but a few things impacted my decision:

You might think this sounds like cope, especially since I just advised Adam not to take the deal, but I wanted to give you all insight into how two creators in similar positions could reach different conclusions based on different factors. I know the internet isn’t great at nuance, but that’s why I write a newsletter.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to send them my way!