Mark Wahlberg Claims The NFL Has Complained About HBO show ‘Ballers’

While HBO show Ballers may be a huge hit with football fans, the NFL itself is not too happy about the new series. During an interview, executive producer for the show, Mark Wahlberg, dished to radio hosts about how the NFL has been complaining about the new show starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Wahlberg told ESPN’s talk show Mike & Mike on Friday that he has fielded calls from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as well as other team owners. The 45-year-old actor and producer stated: “The first season of the show, the only calls I was getting were from guys like Roger Goodell saying, ‘You can’t do this,’ and various owners in the league. What we’re saying is, you know, it’s actually a good thing for the league and for the players, because if we get the word out there with the crazy stuff and the financial side of it, we can hopefully get these guys to realize that they’ve got to be more careful with what they do with their money.”

Natalie Ravitz, the NFL senior vice president of communications has taken to Twitter to deny the claims made by Wahlberg. One tweet read, “It makes for a nice story but this call from @nflcommish never happened.” Another tweet stated, “Love Marky Mark (good vibrations is a classic) but this call from @nflcommish never happened @Deadspin”

The HBO show Ballers is a scripted television series that revolves around Dwayne Johnson, who is a financial manager for NFL players. The show gives a glimpse into what some of these NFL players’ lives may look like during their career and after retirement.

Wahlberg stated: “The key is to make it as authentic as possible, you know, no matter how outrageous it gets. We always kind of surround ourselves with the real guys and because the show is so accurate, that’s why we get guys like Ndamukong Suh [and] Terrell Suggs…you know, guys know that we make sure that we make it real.”

Check out Ballers with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.