The NFL is sticking to its guns about how its team members use social media — namely, by keeping teams out of X-competitor Bluesky.
This information comes courtesy of the top-rated sports website Awful Announcing Patriots Unfiltered. In response to a fan suggestion that the team expand its social media presence to Bluesky, Patriots VP of content Fred Kirsch stated that “at this time we are not allowed.”
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Kirsch explained that while the Patriots briefly tested the waters on Bluesky, “the league asked us to remove it because it’s not an NFL-approved social media platform at this time,” he said.
Bluesky, which now boasts more than 28 million users, has emerged as a leading alternative to X after Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s apparent switch to politics. Sports teams are increasingly exploring life beyond the X, with Bundesliga clubs such as FC St. Pauli taking office in November, following the US presidential election.
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Recently, a few large sports-focused subreddits have floated the idea of banning X-links altogether, even though much of their content relies heavily on posts from the site. At the same time, prominent sports journalists and media personalities have begun to build an active presence on Bluesky, making X’s role as a destination for sports fans feel redundant.
As for the NFL presence on Bluesky? Actually it doesn’t exist. The league maintains active relationships with Meta and X, and despite a wave of sports fans and media moving to Bluesky, the NFL has yet to follow suit. The decision appears to stem less from dealing with Musk or Zuckerberg and more from the league’s business interests and the brand’s working relationship with both platforms.
An NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
That being said, a number of NFL teams appear to be participating in the Bluesky – sort of. The Detroit Lions (53.8k followers at press time), New York Giants (13.5k), Minnesota Vikings (22.7k), and Philadelphia Eagles (50.6k) all have accounts that look legitimate. But based on recent comments from Patriots VP Fred Kirsch, these accounts are likely fan-driven, as they are unverified and illegal.
