Not A Tweet Deal For The NFL

Well it's been decided. In what appears to be an attempt to limit play-by-play disclosure, Roger Goodell has metaphorically killed two birds with one stone-- the first in the form of the light blue avian Twitter mascot and the second (less literal) being my desire to follow NFL players during game-time.

I can see the most logical reasoning behind restricting NFL athletes to Tweetlessness during matches and for a 90-minute window before and after games (i.e. distractions, play-by-play disclosure). But after reading several articles I still can't figure out the main reason for doing this.


My Top Three Theories:

1. Betting: Someone injured and Tweets about it before an injury report? Might sway some bets in Vegas. Gotta draw the line between fan communication and the disclosure of bet-able information.
   
2. Distractions: Although I'm fascinated by what is going through Randy Moss's head before high-stepping into the endzone for a touchdown, other people may find it excessive and distracting.
   
3. Case-By-Case: There have been several issues where someone has been fined over a tweet. Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers complained about Dolphin's stadium food and was punished with a $2,500 fine. By making one rule that bans tweets altogether, it eliminates the need for individual cases, like Cromartie food-slagging.

Those are my three best guesses. I'd like to hear some of your theories, because I can't find an article that explains the reasoning behind it. However, odds are it has something to do with betting. But keep in mind:

• Why is football the exception? Why not other sports like baseball and basketball?
• Why the 90 minute window? Is 90 minutes the official social media buffer time limit?
  

Quick Quiz: Which NFL team has the most active Twitter users?