EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A recent study conducted by Spencer Barnes, an assistant finance professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, has sparked debate over whether the NFL might be influenced by financial incentives.

Barnes’ research examined referee calls involving the Kansas City Chiefs from 2015 to 2023, a period marked by significant changes in the NFL.

Barnes explained that the study aimed to determine if certain teams receive favorable calls due to financial incentives, a concept known in finance as “regulatory capture.”

The research focused on both objective calls, like false starts, and subjective ones, such as defensive pass interference.

The findings suggest that subjective calls have been more favorable to the Chiefs since Patrick Mahomes became their quarterback, compared to other teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots during Tom Brady’s tenure.

The study also noted that the Chiefs have experienced higher viewership and TV ratings, which are directly linked to NFL revenue.

However, Barnes emphasized that the study does not claim the NFL is explicitly instructing referees to favor certain teams. “We do think that maybe there is a little bit of implicit bias going on,” Barnes said, adding that the findings show correlation, not causation.

When I went to UTEP’s campus with a whiteboard asking, “Is the NFL rigged?” I got some pretty mixed reviews.

While some students claimed it would be way too hard to rig the NFL do to how many people are involved, others think games really are ‘scripted’. Now, most of the students who believe in the script say it especially works in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs.

One student (and New York Giants fan) explicitly said, “If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, the NFL is rigged. If the Giants win, it was all skill.” Despite the study’s findings, Barnes cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions, acknowledging that other factors could explain the observed patterns.

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For more details on Barnes’ study, visit the UTEP website.