The NFL schedule release video arms race has finally drawn blood. The Colts deleted theirs Wednesday night and issued an apology after the Minecraft-themed compilation went a little too far in its digs at teams.
The video opened with a dolphin jumping in the water with the name “Hill” wearing a No. 10 Miami jersey being apprehended by the Coast Guard. Police pulled Hill over for speeding on his way to the Dolphins’ home opener last season that led to officers pulling him from his car, pinning him to the ground, and handcuffing him.
“We removed our schedule release video because it exceeded our rights with Microsoft and included an insensitive clip involving Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill,” the Colts said in a statement to Front Office Sports and other outlets. “We sincerely apologize to Microsoft and Tyreek.”
Hill says he wasn’t offended. “Should have left it up,” he wrote in a post tagging the Colts. “This was funny.”
The apology to Microsoft, which bought Minecraft in 2014, is particularly noteworthy given that the Colts weren’t the only team to distribute a Minecraft-themed release. The Chargers, one of the most notorious teams in the age of clever schedule release videos, also based their release on Minecraft, though their video was two minutes longer and had more complex designs than the Colts’ release.
The Chargers’ video opened with a disclaimer that the following scenes would not be “available in-game,” and that their Minecraft theme was “used with permission from Microsoft.” The Colts’ video contained no such wording.
A spokesperson for the Chargers said the team worked with Microsoft ahead of the schedule release, and needed to make clear in the disclaimer that the video was for entertainment purposes only. The Chargers didn’t know another team was going to use a Minecraft theme, they said.
Both the Chargers and Colts referenced the infamous fight at a Starbucks between NFL reporters Ian Rapoport and Jordan Schultz.
NFL teams do not have to clear their schedule release videos with the league office before posting them, a league spokesperson confirmed.
The Colts also did a collaboration with popular account NBA Paint to announce each game in a series of simply doodled posts.
Elaborate schedule release videos have become an NFL staple, with the ante upped by the viral popularity of the Titans’ 2023 video recorded on Nashville’s Broadway.
This year, videos ranged from Dave Portnoy making digs at Tom Brady’s Raiders ownership and media gig in the Patriots’ video to Cleveland releasing an odd video of Brownie the Elf using magical powers to control time and reveal opposing teams.
The Colts’ video also showed Patrick Mahomes—depicted as a frog to reference jokes that his voice sounds like the Muppets’ Kermit—breaking up a fight between his father Patrick Mahomes Sr. and former MLB player John Rocker. It also pins Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray as a “chicken jockey,” a joke poking fun at the quarterback’s height and referencing a moment from the game that surged in popularity with A Minecraft Movie.
