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We’re finally starting to see the repercussions of gambling in the NFL, and it isn’t pretty.
On Thursday, the NFL handed out yet another round of suspensions related to gambling, where four more players, that included Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, will now suffer the fate of their actions in the sum of either indefinite suspensions of six games. It’s the second time in two months that the league has done so, with more likely on the way. But the emphasis is clear – don’t gamble if you’re an NFL employee, particularly a player.
The NFL is taking a gamble of their own
This is now a known 12 total players that the NFL has suspended for gambling since 2019 when wagering on pro and college sports games became legal in certain states.
Many may have forgotten the name Josh Shaw, the former defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, but he was the original out of these recent gambling suspensions back in 2019. Shaw was suspended towards the end of the season and carried over into 2020 that eventually ended up costing him 21 games. However, he hasn’t played in the NFL since and is currently in the USFL playing for the Birmingham Stallions. Shaw was, for all intents and purposes, the setting of the precedent for what the league feels is a fitting punishment for those that choose to ignore the league’s rules on gambling.
Calvin Ridley, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the poster child of these latest suspensions, though, mainly through his name recognition. The former star wide receiver for Alabama was, like Shaw, suspended for a whole year after he was found betting on league games. Since then, he was traded from the Atlanta Falcons and just reinstated to the league back in March of this year.
Ridley was and still is a young, rising star in the league. Even before his year-long suspension ensued, he was dealing with some off-the-field mental health issues that kept him away from the game. But it was the NFL who extended that time away and have now done the same for others. Ridley is looking more fortunate than some that have received similar fate, however. At least he still has a job and is on a team.
NFL embraces sports betting
It’s understandable that the NFL is putting rules in place to protect themselves. And while it’s also understandable that this is a new era of sports and that it’s yet another rocky path for league’s to navigate through in attempts to maintain their integrity, there’s fine lines here.
For instance, it doesn’t help that the NFL is embracing sports betting. The league is currently in partnership with three official sportsbooks. Not to mention that by the beginning of the 2023 season, two NFL stadiums – Arizona's State Farm Stadium and Washington's FedEx Field – will have sportsbooks in or around their venues. The league also includes the marketing of these sportsbooks with up to six commercials on each of their broadcasts.
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This makes it sensible to believe that there is a wide disconnect between the players and the NFL. It’s in the vicinity of what college players were dealing with before NIL arrived because the NFL is essentially finding another way to profit off their players, yet not allowing them to take part of the profits themselves.
The NFL and other leagues fought the good fight as long as they could to prevent sports gambling from reaching its legal approval. Now they’re swimming in the deep waters of its acceptance, spreading its good word. However, this good news is only for the fan elect.
Blackballed by the rest of the league?
Again, it’s understandable that the NFL doesn’t want harm to come upon its game where players could potentially grossly influence the outcome of games or otherwise. But these lengthy suspensions aren’t just causing a loss of a year for some players, they're causing them the rest of their careers, essentially being blackballed by the rest of the league.
As mentioned, Shaw hasn’t played in the NFL since he was suspended back in 2019. With the first round of suspensions this season, the Detroit Lions ended up eventually cutting Stanley Berryhill, Demetrius Taylor, Quintez Cephus and CJ Moore. And within hours of the announcement of Thursday’s suspensions, the Indianapolis Colts cut Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry. The few exceptions to this unwritten rule of being blackballed by the league are Ridley, Jameson Willams, Shaka Toney and Nicholas Petit-Frere so far.
“There is simply no way to have any tolerance when it comes to our players, coaches, or staff betting on NFL football,” vice president and general manager who oversees sports betting for the NFL, David Highhill wrote to ESPN. “As individuals involved with the NFL, whether player, personnel, or staff, we have different obligations [and in some cases relevant state laws] than our fans that mean we cannot bet on football. This should not be surprising or controversial.”
Luckily for the NFL, there’s not a new collective bargaining agreement until 2030. In seven years time, there’s no telling how many more suspensions will be handed out by then due to sports gambling or how sports betting will have evolved in that time. Nonetheless, it’s bound to be a topic of interest.
