Gambling penalties have taken a severe toll this year. Jameson Williams and Nicholas Petit-Frere open the season with six-game suspensions. They’re the lucky ones. Other players from Detroit and Indianapolis face indefinite suspension or will be released.
The NFL has tapped Tom Brady for a video on its gambling policy that rookies must watch as the league tries to clarify its rules. Players have noticed, and they say the NFL has done a much better job of educating them on exactly where and what they can bet on, especially helpful with smartphones and tablets making wagering so easy.
“They made what has been broken very clear—after the fact,” Detroit linebacker Alex Anzalone said, per the Washington Post.
The NFL’s mandated training this year included both league and NFL Players Association officials and emphasized these key rules:
- Don’t even think of betting on NFL games.
- Forget wagering on the draft, combine, Pro Bowl or the league’s annual awards.
- Someone else can’t place a bet for you.
- Don’t play fantasy football. Just ignore the NFL website that features a link for everyone else.
- No gambling while on team or league property with that always present phone. That includes the team facility, the team hotel, the team airplane or even while making endorsement or promotional appearances.
“Last year, they didn’t give it to us like that,” Detroit cornerback Jerry Jacobs said of all those details, per the Washington Post. “They just told us we can’t gamble, but they didn’t tell us where.”
Mark Donovan, Kansas City Chiefs president, said each employee, seasonal and full-time, goes through appropriate training each year.
“Eventually, someone’s going to get it …,” Donovan told the Post. “You can have a seasonal (worker) that’s in Kansas on FanDuel. If he’s an employee of ours, that’s an issue, right?”
Arizona right tackle Kelvin Beachum pointed out there’s a BetMGM facility within walking distance of State Farm Stadium, where the Cardinals play. Mighty big attraction to avoid. But he says the NFL and NFLPA have made the urge crystal clear.
“Where there is a lot of gray area is you’ve got BetMGM that is a sponsor for one of the teams,” Beachum told the Post. “You’ve got DraftKings, who is paying players to do commercial spots, whether it be for hospitality or fighting, but those brands are still working with the NFL in many respects.”
Contradictions are everywhere for a league now inextricably entwined with sports betting while preaching caution for players. Everybody else working in the NFL can’t bet on any sport.
Archie Manning and his sons—Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton and his brother, Eli—are featured in commercials for Caesars Sportsbook. The Super Bowl will be played in Las Vegas, a city the league conspicuously avoided for decades but is now home to the Raiders, who play within sight of the world-famous Vegas Strip.
Defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., co-alternate NFLPA team rep for the New England Patriots, said it’s impossible to escape legalized sports betting.
“You have a team in Vegas that’s pretty much right beside the biggest gambling spot in the world,” Wise told the Post. “If I cut on the TV and radio, I’m hearing about FanDuel, I’m hearing about whatever bets are being made or whatever fantasy league or whatever the case.”
Beachum said he’s never been tempted to download a betting app. “But I’ve been very interested in the investment aspect of being able to invest in some of those franchises,” he said.
Despite all the possible enticements, the suspensions seem to work.
“Nobody wants to be suspended without pay for a year,” said Pittsburgh center Mason Cole, who was among those who believes the league’s gambling policy always has been pretty clear. “Nobody is trying to do that, so I think it’s a pretty good deterrent.”
Calvin Ridley was the first big name suspended and forced to miss the entire 2022 season. The 26th overall pick of the 2018 draft at least is back in the league. Atlanta traded him to Jacksonville, and Ridley was reinstated the first day he was allowed to ask the NFL to let him play again.
Williams will miss the NFL’s opening game September 7 when the Lions visit the defending champion Chiefs. His starting job will be waiting when he’s eligible to return to the Detroit lineup on October 22.
The starting job Petit-Frere won as a rookie and third-round pick last year out of Ohio State may not be his when he’s eligible to return October 29 against Atlanta. The Titans signed veteran Chris Hubbard to ensure they had a replacement.
Every NFL player contract includes a clause on upholding the integrity of a game. So what did Petit-Frere bet on? He wouldn’t say.
“I could just tell you that it was not on NFL for sure because I understand that is a detriment to the league and to the integrity of the (NFL) shield,” Petit-Frere told the Post.
