Finally, someone with f*cking clout, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Troy Aikman, said what we are all thinking: The NFL's officiating needs to improve considering how much money is bet on the sport. It's gotten so bad that the brother of former NFL senior vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino, believes the league is rigged. Sheesh. Thankfully, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Aikman addressed the elephant in the room. Aikman told SI: "People are gambling more than they have ever before and those types of calls, there’s a lot at stake regardless, but especially when you’re considering there’s a lot of money that’s changing hands with these calls as well." The calls Aikman is referring to are those momentum-swinging, bang-bang unnecessary roughness penalties quarterbacks get. Whether it's hitting a quarterback during his slide or going high or low on the quarterback in the pocket, it's borderline impossible to play defense in the NFL right now. Aikman became one of us after voicing his frustration with one of these calls in the divisional round a few weeks ago. The Houston Texans got called for a bogus 15-yard personal foul for hitting Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes during his slide. Furthermore, in the AFC Championship, Kansas City caught another lucky break when the refs spotted Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen short on his fourth-down quarterback sneak. As a result, the NFL being rigged is a top-five storyline heading into Super Bowl 2025. That's no bueno for a league that basically prints money. In fact, the only way the NFL loses market share is if fans and bettors question its credibility. With that in mind, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should pay attention to Aikman's important PSA. The league is in business with far too many sportsbooks to allow this awful officiating to continue. _____________________________ SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. I'll add bets to my NFL 2024-25 betting record via X all season.