Second-year Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike received a full-season suspension for betting on NFL games, joining a handful of players during what has been an active stretch for the NFL and gambling trouble. The former fourth-round pick’s rookie season is now believed to have included bets on Broncos games.
Uwazurike bet on at least five Broncos games, two in which he played, according to the Des Moines Register’s Travis Hines and Randy Peterson. These were among the approximately 801 wagers a FanDuel account controlled by Uwazurike made. These bets totaled just more than $21K and are the subject of a criminal gambling investigation in Iowa, per Hines and Peterson, who add Uwazurike also bet on Cyclones games he played in during the 2021 season.
In total, Uwazurike made 32 bets on Broncos games or Broncos players. It is not yet known if any of these bets were on the Broncos to lose or unders involving Denver players. Prosecutors have accused Uwazurike of tampering with records and disguising his identity to make these bets, according to the complaint, by using another person, Rachel Louise Francis, to make the wagers for him. The Broncos have cooperated with this investigation, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
Uwazurike, 25, is far from the first player to be hit with a gambling ban in recent months. A handful of players, including Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, were found to have bet on NFL games and are thus under indefinite suspension. Rodgers was found to have bet on Colts games. Uwazurike’s involvement in a criminal gambling matter is a different story, and his role as a rotational D-lineman in Denver clouds his NFL future in light of this probe. Three years remain on Uwazurike’s rookie contract, which will toll to 2024 — provided he is still with the team by that point.
The Colts waived Rodgers, while the Lions cut the four non-Jameson Williams popped with gambling suspensions. Defensive end Shaka Toney remains with the Commanders. The NFL went years without a gambling policy violator, but a 2018 Supreme Court decision that expanded betting to numerous states beyond Nevada and New Jersey has both affected the NFL through partnerships and with players running afoul of the betting policy. Teams have attempted to better educate players on the gambling policy, but Uwazurike trudged into hot water earlier by allegedly making bets as a college athlete.
The Broncos used Uwazurike as a backup D-lineman in eight games last season; he played 165 defensive snaps. Along with fellow second-year player Matt Henningsen, Uwazurike had a chance to play a bigger role this season.