Richard Sherman: Fantasy football is reason for illegal contact emphasis

If you have watched any NFL preseason action, you know that the league is placing an emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding this year. There have been a ton of defensive holding calls over the past few weeks, sometimes to the point where the games have been painful to watch. Richard Sherman thinks fantasy football is the reason for that.

During a chat with NBC’s Josh Elliott that aired on Sunday Night Football, Sherman was asked for his thoughts on what many have deemed the new NFL.

“You know, when the fantasy football numbers need to be what they need to be, the league needs to do what it needs to do to get it done,” he said. “This is a money-driven league. Whatever sells the tickets is gonna sell the tickets.”

But, of course, Sherman isn’t worried about how it will affect him on a personal level.

“I don’t think it affects our game at all,” he said. “If you look at the statistics, the way the preseason is going, it’s rarely ever affected us in a game.”

There is a common belief that the Seahawks are actually the reason the NFL told officials to start emphasizing illegal contact. Seattle’s dominant, but physical, play on defense resulted in a 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl — the third largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history. The NFL would have liked a much closer game.

The NFL also wants to see more scoring, and fantasy football is one of the reasons for that. Heck, there’s a fantasy football lounge at the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium. In many ways, Sherman is right. The officials will likely ease up a bit when the regular season starts, but they’re clearly going to favor the receiver more than they have in the past.

Video via The Big Lead