ProFootballTalk opened up a Pandora’s Box earlier this week when they noted that the Oakland Raiders were the only team in the NFL to not paint the 50 yard line at midfield gold as part of the league-wide Super Bowl 50 promotion this season. A nugget that got picked up by most outlets and led to questions in the Bay Area on if the team would be joining the rest of the NFL in eventually painting their 50 yard markings gold or if the franchise was engaging in some sort of defiance or protest by not doing so.
As it turned out, the national and local media were making a big deal about nothing yesterday as there is reportedly a very logical reason why the lines weren’t gold for the Raiders home games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.