Overview

• The University of Texas at El Paso team analyzed more than 13,000 NFL penalties from 2015 to 2023.
• In the postseason, flags against defenses facing Kansas City more often produced first downs, larger yardage, and subjective calls such as roughing the passer or pass interference.
• Similar effects were not found for the Tom Brady–era Patriots or other recent contenders.
• The paper, authored by Spencer Barnes and colleagues, was published Oct. 8 in Financial Review.
• The study frames the results as consistent with regulatory capture after the 2015–2017 ratings slump, and no league response was reported in the coverage.