Former Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko made some allegations on his social media, claiming that the NFL “threatened to pull” his pension last year. He made the allegation on Saturday, October 17, as Notre Dame fell to BYU in a controversial game that drew criticism for officiating.
Notre Dame lost 28-24 to BYU on Saturday, and the game’s closing moments sparked renewed debate over the officials’ decisions. However, before getting into what happened on the field, let’s look at what the former LA Chargers defensive tackle posted on X.
“I won’t even be quiet about it no more. When I played in the NFL, we all knew officials were rigging games certain ways. It happens at the college ranks. Last year, when I put the NFL on blast about it, they threatened to pull my pension. F–k em. The world deserves to know,” Fehoko wrote on X.
Fehoko, 30, is from Hawaii, but his claims remain unverified. He did not identify any specific officials, games, or individuals allegedly involved, nor did he provide evidence that the NFL had threatened his pension. That claim has not been independently corroborated. Even the NFL has not responded to or confirmed Fehoko’s allegation.
This also wasn’t his first post about officiating this season. Fehoko previously accused officials of “rigging” a Michigan game in the Wolverines’ favor. Now, his latest comments have drawn attention following the controversial Notre Dame-BYU finish.
The primetime matchup featured No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU in Provo, Utah. Late in the game, officials appeared to miss a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, while the handling of the clock also came under scrutiny.
The Big 12 acknowledged that one second should have remained on the clock, which would have given Notre Dame another chance to win.
“Following the Big 12’s review of the final play of Saturday’s Notre Dame-BYU game, it was determined that time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground, and the play was incorrectly cleared by the replay officiating crew,” the Big 12 said in a statement. “The Conference will conduct a complete review of its end-of-game officiating process in advance of next week’s games.”
Had that one second been placed on the clock during the game, it would have given the Fighting Irish one final play. However, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman declined to criticize the officials directly, describing the final sequence as chaotic.
But coming back to Fehoko’s claim regarding his pension, even though the context remains unclear, the NFL takes public criticism of its referees seriously. During the 2023 season, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes were fined $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, for violating NFL rules about publicly criticising game officials.
The criticism came from a game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14, where the Chiefs lost 20-17. With 1:25 minutes remaining in the game, Mahomes made a pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who passed it laterally to wide receiver Kadarius Toney, and the WR ran for a touchdown. However, it wasn’t counted; instead, a penalty was flagged on Toney for being offside.
While it was clear from his alignment that Toney was offside, head coach Andy Reid called the aftermath “a bit embarrassing in the National Football League,” while Mahomes dismissed the situation as “elementary school [stuff].”
However, the Notre Dame-BYU officiating has gained attention as another high-profile finish this season to raise questions about officiating. The first involved Michigan and Western Michigan.
The Game That Caught Breiden Fehoko’s Attention
The controversy surrounding Michigan’s September 5, 2026, season opener against Western Michigan centered on a disputed clock adjustment by the Big Ten replay crew. The decision gave Michigan another play and helped the Wolverines secure a 13-12 victory.
Michigan trailed 12-7 with no timeouts remaining when it threw a pass into the end zone on what appeared to be the final play of the game. The pass fell incomplete, and the game clock reached 0:00 on both the television broadcast and the stadium scoreboard. Western Michigan players began celebrating what would have been their first-ever win over Michigan.
However, the Big Ten officiating and replay crew reviewed the play. Officials determined that a defender had stepped out of bounds while touching the ball and restored one second to the clock.
That extra second gave Michigan another opportunity. Quarterback Bryce Underwood threw a 47-yard Hail Mary to J.J. Buchanan for a touchdown as time expired, handing the Wolverines the win.
The decision prompted the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to file a formal appeal with the NCAA. Under the established NCAA timing rules for video reviews, replay officials must use the television program feed clock to determine how much time remains when restoring seconds to the game clock.
On the broadcast feed, the clock had reached 0:00 before the ball hit the ground, suggesting that the game should have ended. However, the Big Ten replay officials relied on an internal replay-system clock that was not synchronized with the broadcast clock. That system showed time remaining, leading officials to restore the extra second.
The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee subsequently reviewed the incident and confirmed that replay protocols had been violated. According to the committee, “Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different.”
Despite acknowledging that Western Michigan would have won 12-7 if the correct procedures had been followed, the NCAA did not overturn the result. Under the applicable rules, a game’s outcome cannot be changed once the game has ended and the next legal snap has occurred. As a result, Michigan’s victory officially stood.
Fehoko reacted to the controversy at the time, writing: “If you don’t believe sports are rigged, the officials just rigged the Michigan game in their favor. Shouldn’t have been a play.”
Now, following the controversial finish to Notre Dame’s loss to BYU, Fehoko has once again spoken out against officiating in college football.