I've always considered the conspiracy theories that the NFL, and/or referees are fixing games to be silly. Football games represent an enormous amount of business revenue, not just for the NFL teams, and television networks, but for the countless ancillary businesses as well. The NFL does have some anti-trust exemption, but it is not a blanket exemption. For the NFL to rig even a single, regular season game would constitute significant felonies, anti-trust violations, and interstate commerce laws, as well as civil litigations. But a playoff game, or a Super Bowl game? Just the legal gambling ramifications alone would be mind-boggling. Why would the NFL even consider such an enormous risk, just for the sake of a narrative?