NFL teams cannot use Bluesky.
Bluesky is not yet ready for the big moment.
The NFL has asked the New England Patriots to close their account on the Bluesky platform. During an episode of the Patriots Unfiltered podcast, Fred Kirsch, the team's vice president of content, commented that the league informed them that Bluesky "is not an approved social media platform for the NFL at this time."
Kirsch mentioned that the team had a temporary account on Bluesky before receiving the order from the league. In November, the NFL indicated that it was aware of Bluesky's existence, even though it did not have a presence on the network, according to reports. When an official response was sought from the league, they declined to comment.
American football teams are authorized to post on other platforms like X, with which the NFL maintains a content partnership that includes an "NFL Portal," as revealed by X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, in October. Additionally, the league has content agreements with Reddit and is present on Threads and other Meta platforms.
Meanwhile, Bluesky has experienced steady growth, reaching nearly 29 million users, a significant increase compared to the previous two months. While it remains uncertain if this is sufficient for the NFL, there are reports that Bluesky is working to attract sports leagues to its platform. Kirsch stated that the Patriots are "ready to get started" once the situation with Bluesky is resolved.