There are only two points NFL players and coaches need to keep in the forefront of their mind when it comes to betting on sports.
- Never bet on the NFL. Never. Ever.
- If you bet on other sports, don’t be anywhere that constitutes a team venue, from a team bus to a training camp. Never. Ever.
Follow those two points and you’ll never run afoul of the league policy on sports betting.
“We continue to hammer these things home that we’ve got to be very, very careful and understand it,” Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera told reporters at a recent press conference. “The integrity of the league, integrity of each team—and then the players’ own integrity and coaches’ integrity for that matter as well—are at stake. And we have to be very, very diligent about this.”
In April, five players—four from the Detroit Lions—were suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy. In June, Indianapolis Colts cornerback/returner Isaiah Rodgers revealed he crossed the line too. He completed hundreds of smaller bets, some on the Colts.
Rodgers awaits punishment for his transgressions.
“All I’ll say on that is an ongoing investigation with the NFL, and we are constantly educating our coaches and players about the issue,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters at a recent press conference.
Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney was one of the five players suspended in April for betting on NFL games.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that players always hear the message during training camp, but the team also would be sure to relay the message again for mandatory workouts.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick, to no surprise, talked about the league’s policy “in very large detail,” defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. said, according to the Boston Globe.
“He always tells us what we need to do, what we need to stay away from,” Wise said. “We had a whole meeting about just that, so we do a good job of learning (from it).”
Players have to sign a waiver that acknowledges the policy, Commanders kicker Joey Slye said. “Might be that a lot of guys aren’t reading what they’re signing,” he told USA TODAY Sports.
The thing is, the leagues like the deals with sportsbooks, touting “official sportsbook partners,” advertisements and more.
The NFL employed a new tactic to get players to adhere to the two simple rules of gambling. Bring in Tom Brady. Mr. All American. Mr. Smiles.
Brady taped an introduction to the league’s gambling educational video that is to be shown by every team as part of their regularly scheduled sessions on gambling. The seminars are held both at the team’s rookie minicamps and training camps.
What does Brady say? Betting on NFL games hurts the integrity of the league, according to 9News.
Pleading ignorance is worthless when it comes to NFL gambling violations. All players receive the league’s policy every year.
Besides its nearly 3,000 players, the NFL trains 17,000 people who are employed in some form by the league, from the ball boys to chain holders to anyone associated even on a game-day-only basis, on its gambling policy.
The Eagles have tendered two interesting sports betting analogies as they apply to the NFL: an unseen iceberg that runs deeper than expected. Even more impressive is the no-fly zone to describe what you can’t do.
Of all the players receiving suspensions in recent months, none were Eagles. So maybe those analogies work.
“We just have to make sure we are being smart on sports betting,” Eagles running back Kenny Gainwell told Sports Illustrated. “Make sure you don’t do sports betting at all. If you do it, don’t do it here at the facility.
It’s all about education and discussing the policy, said coach Nick Sirianni.
“Even in the season, we devote a day, a meeting a week to talk about any issues that popped up,” he told SI.
