This is why the NFL won’t allow members to use Bluesky, X’s newest competitor
The New England Patriots were asked by the NFL to remove their Bluesky account, the leading social media competitor to X.
As Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg seem to be making a shift towards far-right politics, alternatives to their social media platforms have been emerging. Bluesky has recently come out as the leading alternative. Following the U.S. Presidential election, some sports teams like Bundesliga’s FC St. Paul already made the move from X to Bluesky as early as November.
As for the NFL, however, you won’t find them on Bluesky, at least not officially - at least, not yet.
NFL bars Patriots from using Bluesky
On an episode of the podcast “Patriots Unfiltered”, a fan suggested to New England Patriots vice president Fred Kirsch that they expand their social media presence by joining Bluesky. Kirsch said that the team “briefly” had an account on Bluesky, but the league asked them to take it down.
Kirsch explained, “Right now, we’re not allowed to” as it is not yet “an approved social media platform for the NFL”. At the moment, the NFL has content partnerships with X and Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, so teams are allowed to post there. They also have a deal with and a significant presence on Reddit.
Bluesky has seen a recent spike in signups, with around 29 million users currently - almost double the amount it had two months ago. For years, X has been the go-to social media platform for sports news, but now, several prominent sports journalists and media personalities have joined Bluesky.
Subreddits are banning X links due to "recent events" and are now only allowing links to Bluesky or Threads.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 22, 2025
Serious EDS pic.twitter.com/ijro7YKQUy
The NFL has not yet jumped on board, but they may do so soon. Right now, the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and Philadelphia Eagles all have Bluesky accounts, but considering what Kirsch has said, those NFL accounts are not official or verified. Bluesky is working to get the NFL on board, and the decision by the league to not allow its members to have an account at the moment seems to be based on its own business interests and brand partnerships, though some may definitely view it as a political statement.
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