As sports gambling has become legalized in the majority of states, sports leagues, players, and media outlets have begun enjoying the financial benefits of sportsbook sponsorships.
However, it is still against league rules for NFL players to bet on NFL games at any time, or to bet on any sports from a team facility or on a team road trip. While a fairly simple rule, it is one that not everyone has been able to follow (or, at least, was not totally aware of when they broke it). Last year, Calvin Ridley sat out the season after betting on NFL games while he was out injured with the Falcons. This summer, a new crop of players has been found to have placed bets in violation of league rules, and this week a “handful” of players will be hit with the same season-long suspension, including Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
A handful of NFL players, including Colts’ cornerback and kick returner Isaiah Rodgers, are expected to receive season-long suspensions this week for allegedly gambling, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/7hPaqJOQlN
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 28, 2023
Earlier this summer when the probe into Rodgers and other players was opened, the corner released a statement acknowledging his mistake and taking full responsibility for violating the league’s rules.
Statement from Colts’ CB Isaiah Rodgers regarding the NFL’s ongoing gambling investigation into his actions: pic.twitter.com/1sNFIoAwIa
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 6, 2023
Gambling controversies are not something leagues take lightly, as there is a heightened concern when it comes to anything that could damage the perceived integrity of the games. To this point, none of the bets found by players have been against their own team, which is of course when throwing a game comes into play, but the NFL set its rules to ensure players aren’t having gambling apps open in team facilities because it could raise suspicion of what else they could be doing.
What players are learning rapidly is that the sportsbooks themselves have very detailed information logs about when and where bets are placed, because they too need to maintain the public’s faith that the games happening are indeed on the up and up. While there are plenty who point to the league taking sportsbooks money only to punish players for using those products as hypocrisy, the rules are fairly cut and dry and are also understandable. That these bets are flagged is an indication that the system works pretty much as intended, and players will have to quickly learn that there’s not really a way to sneakily get around it.