The 5 best reactions to the NFL’s GIF ban
The NFL’s new ban on teams shooting footage from inside the stadium and then sharing it on social media is not necessarily the most scandalous in its storied history of controversies, but it has left teams, tweeters and bloggers frustrated and bitter. The ban now means that teams can no longer live stream via Facebook Live or Periscope during games, but it most importantly marks the end of highlight footage GIFs on team Twitter accounts.
The NFL is demanding that all clips come from its official account, as it can sell the advertising space that plays before this footage. In an effort to show just how serious this ban is, the NFL is fining teams up to $25,000 for the first offense, $50,000 for the second, and up to $100,000 for any additional offenses, adding up to probably the most expensive GIFs on the internet.
Teams have responded cleverly, publishing GIFs with generic celebration images, movie clips and even toy recreations. Take a look at the best ways that NFL teams have circumvented the new GIF ban:
1) The Philadelphia Eagles responded to the ban this weekend with this artistic recreation, one in a series of highlight GIFs created from an old-fashioned table-top football game. While the NFL’s policy may be controversial, no one can deny that it has inspired newfound creativity.
EXCLUSIVE highlight of Malcolm's pick. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/AiP7FYe3Nf
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 16, 2016
2) The Baltimore Ravens chose to celebrate a touchdown with a GIF from The Breakfast Club, which is fitting because the story of a young group rebelling against the powers in charge is a nice parallel to how teams are responding to the NFL’s GIF ban.
Flacco to Gillmore.
TOUCHDOWN! pic.twitter.com/LkU8neFUkt
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 9, 2016
3) Not to be outdone in the film department, the Houston Texans summed up their overtime victory with a celebratory clip from Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, complete with the team names for the Texans and Colts dubbed into the video.
Just in case you missed the end of last night's game, we figured we'd get you up to speed. ????????????
Take it away, Akeem. pic.twitter.com/I9QNOaxp7h
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 17, 2016
4) The Carolina Panthers were especially cheeky, posting a tweet that spelled out the filename of the GIF that would have shown a highlight play. The tweet was soon deleted, however, as it may have been too clever for the NFL’s draconian policy, and Mashable has reported that it would not be out of the question for the NFL to have been involved in the tweet’s removal. The text of the tweet has been reprinted below:
AndersonToBenjamin.gif
17 yard gain!
#KeepPounding— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 10, 2016
5) Bravest of all, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers posted an actual highlight play last week. Evidently refusing to bow down to the NFL’s new ban, it remains to be seen if Buccaneers will be forced to pay the steep $25,000 fine. Regardless of the outcome, their blunt fearlessness is nothing short of heroic.
Vernon Hargreaves tip.
Daryl Smith pick.
Bucs up 6-0!#SiegetheDay https://t.co/OUz6uhCJO6— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) October 11, 2016
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