• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, October 17, 2016

The NFL’s draconian new social media policies, which essentially forbid teams from posting any video besides highlights already shared by the NFL itself, are generating a predictable backlash – including from the teams themselves. And while their protests over the weekend may cost them some real dough if the league chooses to fine them, they make the point in undeniably amusing fashion.

On Sunday evening the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated an exciting interception and touchdown (pick six) by Malcolm Jenkins by tweeting a GIF showing the interception with the promise “EXCLUSIVE highlight of Malcolm’s pick” – except the video reenactment used tiny magnetic figurines and a cardboard cutout football on a stick.

Not long afterwards the Cleveland Browns social media team took a page from the Eagles playbook, tweeting a reenactment of a Browns touchdown using magnetic figurines, some fishing line, and a cutout football (the Browns are to be specially commended for their elaborate dramatization, with a dozen players moving around the end zone).

The really funny part is that the Eagles and Browns really could be fined $25,000 a piece by the NFL for posting these satirical videos. As noted last week, the NFL is taking a very broad view of what constitutes video, which includes GIFs of any kind, even if they contain content completely unrelated to the NFL or football generally.

In other words, teams can be fined for posting, say, funny cat videos or footage from CSPAN – or silly GIFs making fun of stupid rules. What’s more, the fines increase to $50,000 for the second violation and as much as $100,000 for the third violation, at which point the team may also lose access to the NFL’s own content, including game footage.

Whether the NFL wants to prove itself the most humorless entity in the history of sports, or indeed the world, remains to be seen.

On a somewhat serious note, the new social media rules were issued amid growing concern over slumping ratings for NFL games. Through the first three weeks of the 2016 regular season, average ratings on NFL games were down around 10% compared to the same period last year. The unexpected drop has sparked debate about the possible causes and whether it will prove to be a long-term trend undermining pro football as an advertising channel.