It's not certain that the NFL itself was directly responsible. The league claimed in a statement that it conducted "transparency public advocacy efforts" and "followed the playbook" of conventional advocacy campaigns. However, the bogus letters came with cover letters signed by former pro player Lynn Swann, and his assistant confirmed that he'd authorized their inclusion. The NFL also hired four firms to lobby Congress, and the WSJ has learned that a letter-generating website was linked to a PR firm that worked with the NFL at the time. Given that some of the letters swiped real people's identities, it's doubtful that all of the messages came from sincere supporters.

Much of this is water under the bridge. The FCC voted against the blackout rule in 2014, and the NFL ditched its policy in 2015. However, it does illustrate that online astroturfing (aka fake grassroots) campaigns are far from new at the FCC, and that the agency still hasn't done much to deal with them in the years since.