The NFL is trying to get ahead of the curve with gamblers. And it is also busy trying to quash criticism from the NFLPA. Furthermore, the NFL is working to limit prop betting, according to a post on X by Tom Pelissero.
“Prohibited wager categories for NFL games include:
Inherently Objectionable: Markets or bets that are inherently or designed to be derogatory or inflammatory, or otherwise based on subject matter against public policy (e.g., player injuries, fan safety, misconduct, etc.).
Officiating-Related: Markets or bets based on officials or officiating (e.g., officiating assignments, penalties, replays, etc.).
Determinable by One Person in One Play: Based on outcomes 100% determinable by one person in one play (e.g., kicker to miss FG attempt, QB’s first pass to be incomplete, etc.).
Pre-Determined: Pre-determined outcomes directly related to on-field competition (e.g., Will QB start this week? Will team’s first play from scrimmage be a run or pass, etc.).”
NFL is trying to keep itself clean
Roger Good dealt with a potential problem in this type of gambling over a decade ago, according to NBC Sports.
“You said in 2012, ‘If gambling is permitted freely on sporting events, normal incidents of the game such as bad snaps, dropped passes, turnovers, penalties, and play calling inevitably will fuel speculation, distrust, and accusations of point-shaving or game-fixing.’ Fast forward to now, do you see that speculation happening, and what is the NFL doing to counter or prevent it?” Charean Williams asked Goodell in 2024.
And Goodell said, “That’s exactly what I was talking about before is protecting the integrity,” Goodell said. “Making sure that our fans understand that what they see out there does not have any undue influence. We have to educate our personnel. That goes from owners to players to coaches to everybody in the organization to everyone at the league level to our partners. Making sure that they understand, while people can speculate, people can have perceptions, we have to hold that standard as high as we possibly can.”
It’s hard to imagine baseball as the only sport where a few players here and there have done wayward things on a single play. For example, a backup NFL quarterback is told he could make cash by throwing an incomplete pass on the first play of the game. So he calls an audible and chucks the ball over the receiver’s head. Nobody would blink an eye.
