On April 21, the NFL handed out suspensions to five NFL players, including Philadelphia native and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney, for violating the league’s gambling policy.
It appears more suspensions are on the way after similar gambling policies were violated, with the Indianapolis Colts announcing Monday that the NFL is investigating cornerback Isaiah Rodgers for a possible infraction.
The four other players barred in April were Detroit Lions, with wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore, along with Toney, suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games, while Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams were suspended six games each for betting on non-NFL games.
With sports betting partnerships with professional leagues on the rise, the importance of knowing the NFL’s policy concerning gambling will be paramount for players to avoid committing infractions going forward.
But do all the players know the rules surrounding gambling? Do they understand where they can and can’t place bets, and which sports they can gamble on? Here’s a deeper look at what the NFL’s gambling policy is, and where it stands as more people are placing bets from their mobile devices.
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What are the NFL’s gambling guidelines?
In 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was passed into federal law, which prohibited sports betting from happening in all but one state (Nevada), and was said to be “preserving the integrity of the nation’s most popular sports.” Five years ago, the law was overturned when New Jersey won its Supreme Court battle, paving the way for legalized sports betting to be expanded.
After the ruling in 2018, the NFL set guidelines that same year for players and those associated with the league. The league’s policy says: “All NFL personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or indirectly through a third-party, on any NFL game, practice or other event.”
In its next line, the league policy says: “All NFL personnel other than players are further prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating bets on any other professional (e.g., NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, USTA, MLS), college (e.g., NCAA basketball), international (e.g., World Baseball Classic, World Cup), or Olympic sports competition, tournament or event.”
The key phrase here is “other than players,” which means that NFL players are allowed to bet on other sports outside of the NFL. Included in this exclusion is fantasy football, as long as the prize for winning does not exceed $250, but daily fantasy games are prohibited in the policy.
The policy also says that NFL personnel with a gambling debt to another person or business of $10,000 or more must report it to the league’s security department.
It’s worth mentioning that the NFL signed deals with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Entertainment in April 2021 that reportedly could be worth about $1 billion to the league over five years.
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Where can players and personnel place bets?
NFL personnel and players cannot gamble anywhere near team facilities, but it extends much further than that. According to league policy, gambling is not allowed in locker rooms, practice or office facilities, team buses, trains, flights, or hotels, or while traveling on club or league business. However, card games and casino-type games are allowed as long as there is no monetary value attached to it.
In addition, players and personnel are not allowed to set foot in sportsbooks during the NFL season, but the policy does not mention anything about gambling at a sportsbook during the offseason. (Players and personnel are allowed to simply pass through a sportsbook if it is necessary at their hotel.)
Similarly, NFL employees, including players, are not allowed to use their names or images in partnership with gambling-related entities, including sportsbooks. They also cannot have personal relationships with known professional or sports gamblers that could “discredit the reputation of the NFL, NFL players or the game.”
How many players have been suspended for gambling in the past?
Before this year, only five players dating back to 1963 were suspended by the NFL for gambling violations, and two of them occurred over the last four years.
The first two cases involved Paul Hornung, a running back for the Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, both suspended for the 1963 season by then-commissioner Pete Rozelle for betting on NFL games and associating with “undesirable persons.” According to ESPN, Hornung bet up to $500 on games, while Karras had placed at least a half dozen $50 to $100 bets.
Former Colts quarterback Art Schlichter was suspended indefinitely by Rozelle in 1983 for accumulating a $389,000 debt from January to March that year, according to the IndyStar. He never played again the NFL after he was arrested for “running an illegal, multimillion-dollar sports betting operation.”
Josh Shaw (2019) and Calvin Ridley (2022) were the most recent players to be suspended under the NFL’s current gambling policy before this year. A misunderstanding of the league’s policy led to Shaw, an Arizona Cardinals defensive back, to be suspended indefinitely by commissioner Roger Goodell for betting on NFL games on several occasions, which he self-reported. He was reinstated in 2021 but has not been signed since.
Ridley placed several bets worth $1,500 in total over a five-day span during a mental health-related absence from the Atlanta Falcons during the 2021 season, and the wide receiver was suspended indefinitely by Goodell. He was recently reinstated and is on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster.
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