Do NFL referees favor the Chiefs? What a university study shows about officiating during the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City

Kansas City’s Super Bowl victories and dominance of the AFC have been met with applause from its fan base and disdain from outsiders. And while detractors have long claimed that the Chiefs have benefited from preferential officiating, they may now have objective evidence to back up that claim.

In August 2025, the University of Texas at El Paso published a study analyzing more than 13,000 sanctions imposed between 2015 and 2023. The findings, which were broken down in October, show how financial pressure can influence enforcement.

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Here’s what those findings say about the Chiefs.

FURTHER: Why the Chiefs’ officiating narrative may not apply in 2025

Do NFL referees favor the Chiefs?

NFL referees favor the Chiefs, according to the study’s raw numbers.

The findings showed that the decisions of the judges and referees favored the Chiefs from 2015 to 2023. There are more factors at play, but the researchers used postseason officiating for their investigation.

According to that investigation, “postseason officiating has disproportionately favored the Patrick Mahomes-era Kansas City Chiefs.”

FURTHER: Ranking the 16 Greatest Chiefs Players of All Time

How a university study shows the Chiefs’ favoritism in the NFL

Spencer Barnes, Ph.D, is an assistant professor of finance at UTEP’s Woody L. Hunt College of Business and conducted the study.

The study illustrates how the Chiefs benefit from favorable officiating, citing the franchise’s profitability since Mahomes became the starting quarterback. As such, officials are more likely to make subjective decisions that favor Kansas City.

Here’s more from UTEP:

The study shows that during the playoffs, which the research team identified as the NFL’s most commercially valuable period, calls against opposing defenses by the Chiefs’ offense were significantly more likely to result in first downs, cover more yards and fall into subjective categories such as roughing the passer or pass interference.

Dr. Barnes used numbers showing the league experienced a sharp decline in television viewership and ratings between 2015 and 2017, a time when player protests and political conversations impacted many fans’ attitudes toward the league.

FURTHER: Where the Patrick Mahomes-Tom Brady QB GOAT legacy debate stands after Super Bowl 59

Mahomes, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, became a full-time starter prior to the 2018 season. He was league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year during his first year as a full-time starter and in his second year, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a victory in Super Bowl 54.

In seven full seasons with Mahomes as the starter, the Chiefs won five AFC championships and three Super Bowls. Here’s a breakdown of postseason penalties for and against Kansas City during its run with Mahomes as the starter.

Sanctions data can be found here.

Notably, the Chiefs have accumulated more than 220 penalty yards during their three Super Bowl runs. Those numbers line up with the type of penalties that result in first downs that benefit the Chiefs more than their opponents.