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20 Well-Kept Secrets Of The NFL And NBA

Darren Ryding - June 2, 2023

Lists

20 Well-Kept Secrets Of The NFL And NBA

Darren Ryding - June 2, 2023

The NFL and NBA are two of the biggest sports leagues in the US. So of course, that also means they’re two of the biggest in the world. As such, they have a massive influence on millions of people around the planet. Even if you don’t follow basketball or football, you’ll probably know the names LeBron James and Tom Brady.

However, professional sports are not just fun and games. There is a whole murky world of secrets out there which many people just will not know. Some of these will make you shake your head in cynical disgust. Others will make you laugh because they’re just plain ridiculous. One reoccurring trend is that both leagues will go to massive lengths to save money. Check out the list below of 20 well-kept secrets of the NFL and the NBA.

20. No Sentiment for Players

Isaiah Thomas gave so much to the Boston Celtics. The man literally played with broken teeth. He even became an All-Star during his time in Massachussets. Thomas was also only the sixth Celtics star to break the 2000-point mark. In short, he did everything right for the franchise.

Isiah Thomas — Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

The NBA is first and foremost a place of business, however. Despite our love of the sport, the open secret is that franchises will do whatever it takes to win. Even so, it was particularly cold of the Celtics to let Thomas leave the way he did. He literally played for them the day after the death of his sister.

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19. NFL Health Care Is Lacking

You would think that playing in one of the world’s most lucrative sports divisions would guarantee you good health care. But the answer is no it doesn’t. In short, you have to go through an assortment of programs before they even considering paying out. Of course, they do their best to avoid this.

Most of the time they don’t pay the full amount, so players still have to fall back on Medicaid or Obamacare. Meanwhile, they’re actually trying to make it even more difficult to get compensation. The NFL has literally taken players to court over workman’s compensation suits.

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18. Michael Jordan Was Passed On

Jordan could have played for the Portland Trailblazers, but they decided to pass over him. Instead, they took Sam Bowie. He played in the NBA for nine seasons and had a decent career, but come on. Jordan is one of the most iconic NBA stars ever and is as famous for his shoes as for his ability on the court.

At least the first pick that year was a good one. Hakeem Olajuwon won two NBA championships and became a Hall-of-Famer. However, it’s still insane to imagine that Jordan, a 14-time All-Star and six-time NBA champion, didn’t get everybody excited when he first got drafted.

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17. Cheerleaders Don’t Earn a Lot

Of course, NFL players aren’t the only people on the playing field. Every team has its own set of cheerleaders who dedicate their time to performing for their fans. Cheerleaders are young, beautiful and extremely athletic. They have to put in a lot of training to be able to reach the required levels.

However, despite the fact the NFL is incredibly lucrative, cheerleaders don’t often feel the benefits of this. Many of them are underpaid and there have been occasions where they’ve earned just $3 an hour. Team mascots are in the same position as cheerleaders. Should the NFL do something about this?

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16. NFL is a Money Magnet

If the NFL doesn’t want to pay its cheerleaders a lot of money or compensate injured players, then they’re obviously on a tight budget, right? That would be the logical conclusion but no. The truth is that they take in literal billions every year. Every sports league in North America is lucrative, but the NFL is on top of the pile.

In 2013, the NFL sucked in $13 billion. The league hopes to bring that number up to about $25 billion by 2027. This just goes to show the hypocrisy of teams with poor facilities. More money could go into a better fan experience and ensuring better conditions for their athletes.

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15. An NBA Star Killed a Lion With a Spear

This is more of a random fact than a big secret, but more people should know about it. An NFL player literally killed a lion with a spear. Now we’re all for animal’s rights at SportScroll, but that’s pretty awesome. South Sudan’s Manute Bol played for the likes of the Washington Bullets and Golden State Warriors.

A member of the Dinka tribe, Bol was tending his family’s cattle when a lion came prowling by. With just a spear to protect himself, Bol was able to kill the hungry big cat. If that’s not enough, he was also good on the court. Bol is the only NBA player to retire with more career blocked shots than points scored.

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14. Don’t Talk About the Redskins

The Washington Redskins are the fifth most valuable franchise in the NFL. They’ve been around since 1932 and have been one of the most successful teams in the division. But all of that history and success hasn’t come without controversy. As we move into a more socially-conscious era, you can expect it to heat up.

It’s all in their name. Many people believe that the ‘Redskins’ name is disrespectful to Native Americans across the US. Between the team’s name and their logo, it’s easy for social justice warriors to jump on the bandwagon. However, the majority of actual Native Americans really aren’t that bothered.

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13. Players Go Broke

The number of NBA players who go broke is absolutely insane. Sixty percent of NBA players go broke within five years of departing the league. A further 78 percent of former NBA players experience financial distress two years after retirement. These figures are quite simply astounding.

The problem lies in the fact that many young NBA players come from poor backgrounds. When they get their hands on some cash, it goes to their heads. This leads to them spending thousands of dollars on the most frivolous purchases. But when they retire, they’re in serious trouble because the money isn’t coming in anymore.

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12. Black Monday

Did you know that roughly 6% of Americans don’t go to work the day after the Super Bowl? The event is effectively a national holiday in the US in all but name. Even if you’re not a football fan, the chances are that you’ll go to a Super Bowl party. In short, this leads to a lot of drunk people with sore heads the next day.

Americans consume an estimated 325 million beers during the Super Bowl. To sum up, that’s roughly one per person in the country. Meanwhile, they munch through a ridiculous 1.38 billion chicken wings. Forget the football, it’s all about the gluttony when it comes to the Super Bowl.

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11. Players Live Less on Average

We’re going to talk about concussion later on in this list, but as a rule, NFL players live shorter lives than the average human. First of all, they put their bodies through immense trauma in preparation for league games. Although the average age for a male in the US is 77; for NFL players it’s 55.

All that head trauma takes its toll. But it’s not just the concussions that lower life expectancies. Bodies take an intense pounding, resulting in spinal injuries that leave players crippled in their later years. It turns out that running full speed into another man isn’t good for you.

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10. Don’t Want to Discipline

Another fact is that the NFL doesn’t want to discipline people unless they really have to. There is nothing they hate more than a scandal. However, this leads to them being more reactive than proactive. For example, the NFL became embroiled in a scandal in 2014 when Ray Rice got arrested.

Video footage emerged of the Ravens star knocking out his wife and dragging her unconscious out of an elevator. It took the NFL five months to act. They claimed that they were waiting for all of the evidence to emerge. However, law enforcement confirmed that they had sent the footage to the NFL at the start of the investigation.

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9. The Super Bowl Number is a Lie

Oh, the Super Bowl. The world’s most extravagant sports bonzana. It’s not bigger than the World Cup, but as a single piece of competition, it’s out there on its own. However, did you know that the numbers are actually wrong? That’s right, Super Bowl LIII should actually be Superbowl LI.

The reason goes all the way back to 1969 when the AFL and NFL merged to become one. Before this, the two leagues had agreed to play a championship game at the end of the season between their two winners. This went on for two years. When they merged they decided to just continue on the number sequence from three instead of starting again at one.

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8. Lebron James’ Mom

James is one of the NBA’s greatest ever players. Every era has one. The 34-year-old is a three-time NBA champion and a 15-time All-Star. In short, he’s a living legend. But even the greats have problems in their personal lives. However, James’ is both traumatic and hilarious.

During James’s first spell with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he had a bad relationship with one of the other players on the team. The man in question was Delonte West and the reason was that he was sleeping with James’s mom. It’s not so much a secret as something that James just wants to forget forever.

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7. Fans Don’t Matter

This is more of an open secret. It applies to the NBA, NFL and almost every professional sports league out there. When the money starts to pour in then fans matter less. Or at least, they’re only relevant when it comes to how much money the leagues can suck out of them.

Ticket prices in the NFL average over $100. So it’s not the most family-friendly day out. Furthermore, when you consider that franchises can literally move from state-to-state, it just shows how little the locals matter. Just look at the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics going all the way to Oklahoma. To sum up, it’s not right.

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6. Bogus Cancer Drives

The NFL no longer does its pink drives for breast cancer. Instead, it claims to be focusing on all the different types of cancer. However, the reality is very different. Only 11% of donations to their pink drives actually went to cancer charities. Things get even worse from here.

Most of the money goes towards paying for all of the pink merchandise for the event. Then the league actually took 1.25% itself. We’re talking about raising money to battle cancer. Furthermore, 0% actually went towards cancer research. Instead, they paid for screenings, educational programs, and awareness.

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5. Bad Referees

The NFL is the biggest sports league in the United States. Meanwhile, MLS comes in at No.5 on that list. However, soccer has one thing that football doesn’t: professional referees. This is one of the banes of the NBA and leads to regular fan frustration because officiating quality just isn’t there.

We’re not hating on referees. Even if you’re professional it’s still a tough and thankless job. But we’re talking about the richest sports division in the entire world. In fairness, 2019 saw a record number of pro refs take to the field. However, this really should never have been an issue.

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4. Non-Profit Nonsense

The NFL was a non-profit organization until 2015 when they finally gave up the controversial status. Frankly, it’s ridiculous that they were able to keep it for so long anyway. But it doesn’t really matter that they’ve lost it because their teams make so much money every year and still steal from the taxpayer.

If a community refuses to pay for a new stadium then the franchise threatens to pull out. It’s a simple but effective strategy that works almost every time. As a result, taxpayers find themselves forking out for these massive costs. Meanwhile, the NFL owners live like feudal lords.

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3. Stadiums Are Money Drains

Every team wants to have a massive stadium. These modern coliseums cost absolute fortunes. The new SoFi stadium in Los Angeles will cost just short of $5 billion. In short, that’s quite simply outrageous money. When it works, it’s great. But of course, it doesn’t always.

However, the truth of the matter is that many of these stadiums are just drains on their community. They’re only in use for four or five months in the year. Even so, they can’t just sit idle. Continuos repairs, maintenance, and upgrades mean they suck money up like vacuum cleaners.

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2. That Betting Scandal

Money makes the world around so of course there is corruption in professional sports. needless to say, nobody wants to talk about it. Fans blindly trust officials like referees to do their job properly. If a referee makes a bad decision then that can affect fans who have been gambling.

A major scandal caught up with the NBA in 2007. Former referee Tim Donaghy was betting on games and controlling the point spread, and would also offer other individuals betting tips. A federal court handed Donaghy 15 months in prison. He’ll regret that life decision.

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1. Concussions

Everybody knows that the NFL has a problem with concussions. Inf fact you could go even further than that and call it a crisis. The only people who don’t seem to think this is a problem are the head honchos of the league themselves. In short, they’d sooner bury their heads in the sand and pretend it’s not a problem.

Players who suffer concussions are much more likely to suffer illnesses like dementia, Alzheimer’s, depression and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Legends like Brett Favre have suffered literally dozens in their playing careers. Concussions are destroying the futures of these young men.

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20 Well-Kept Secrets Of The NFL And NBA

20 Well-Kept Secrets Of The NFL And NBA

20. No Sentiment for Players

19. NFL Health Care Is Lacking

18. Michael Jordan Was Passed On

17. Cheerleaders Don’t Earn a Lot

16. NFL is a Money Magnet

15. An NBA Star Killed a Lion With a Spear

14. Don’t Talk About the Redskins

13. Players Go Broke

12. Black Monday

11. Players Live Less on Average

10. Don’t Want to Discipline

9. The Super Bowl Number is a Lie

8. Lebron James’ Mom

7. Fans Don’t Matter

6. Bogus Cancer Drives

5. Bad Referees

4. Non-Profit Nonsense

3. Stadiums Are Money Drains

2. That Betting Scandal

1. Concussions

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