Last week, the NFL suspended 4 more players for violations of NFL rules related to sports gambling. The NFL has a fine line to walk here; gambling and the NFL have a long history together. In fact, I believe that an argument can be made that the reason that the NFL is the biggest sport in the US is related to the many ways that have been concocted for fans to bet on NFL activities. In modern times, that underpinning of fans’ interest in betting on games and stats is augmented by lots of money that flows to the NFL through “partnerships” with companies that take bets on games and exploit the Internet to do so. It is not in the interest of the NFL to endanger that foundation of fan interest or that revenue stream.
The history of NFL players gambling on things they should not have been gambling on goes all the way back to the 1960s with the Paul Hornung and Alex Karras situations. There was even a time when the NFL pressured Joe Namath to divest himself of an interest in a nightclub in NYC that was frequented by folks involved in organized crime. Today the problem is expanded because every “smartphone” can be connected to an app that permits wagering on just about anything with the stroke of a thumb.
Some players have said they were confused by some of the rules that they need to abide by notwithstanding attempts to “educate” the players. The NFL’s gambling rules as they relate to players are codified in the existing CBA. As I understand it, there are 6 gambling prohibitions:
- Do not bet on anything related to the NFL. That seems like a no-brainer to me.
- Do not gamble at the team facility or while the team is on a road trip. That seems a tad excessive to me. Is there really any harm if a player is engaged in an online poker game between weightlifting sets?
- Do not share “inside information”. Another no-brainer – – except “inside information” might be subject to interpretation that could be foggy.
- Do not have someone place bets for you. Translation: Do not break these rules AND at the same time try to hide your activity.
- Do not visit sportsbooks during the NFL season. Does this mean players should not visit them physically or electronically or both? It seems to me that visiting a sportsbook is not the problem; what the player might do while in the sportsbook could be a problem.
- Do not play fantasy football. This is another no-brainer since fantasy football is related to the NFL and it is possible that a player’s decisions regarding his fantasy teams could reveal “inside information”.
Even though I think some of these restrictions are excessive and/or “foggy”, I do not think that if I were an NFL player that I would have great difficulty in living within the boundaries of those 6 restrictions. So, in the event that a suspended player tries to explain away what got him suspended, I am not predisposed to accept the assertion that he did not know what he was doing was a no-no.
I read a report about a month ago that estimated that more than 46 million people in the US had placed at least one wager on an NFL game last year. My gut tells me that number is too low given the simple fact that more than 100 million people tuned in to watch the Chiefs/Eagles game in the Super Bowl. In any case, the magnitude of the “active bettors” for NFL activities is indeed large; and in any population of that size, there will always be individuals looking to “get an edge” on others involved in the same or similar activities. For that reason, I understand why the NFL would seek to make its gambling rules as restrictive as possible; players can provide “an edge” to those seeking such either knowingly or unknowingly. And the NFL is not shy about saying so; here is part of a statement made by the NFL’s VP for Communications:
“Everybody should know that when somebody has been found to have been engaged in sports betting that there are real ramifications with real discipline, real discipline … The integrity of the game has to be held at such a high standard that there is no tolerance for those sorts of behaviors.”
He is correct; he and other league officials are protecting an enterprise that generates around $20B in revenue annually. They should indeed drop the hammer on anyone – – player, coach, owner, commissioner – – who jeopardizes that enterprise.
And that leads me to wonder about something that has not happened in the last several years. All of the suspensions – – minor ones at 6 games and major ones where the suspension is indefinite and cannot be appealed for at least one season – – have come down on “not highly recognized names”. [Aside: Yes, I know Calvin Ridley was a high draft pick, but at the time he was suspended he was hardly acclaimed as one of the top 3 WRs in the league.] So, riddle me this:
- Has the NFL been super-fortunate that none of the real stars of the league – – none of the players considered to be the “face-of-the-franchise” – – have run afoul of the gambling rules knowingly or unknowingly?
- Would the NFL suspend such a star player for a year or more if he were caught doing something improper here? Pete Rozelle did that to Alex Karras and to Paul Hornung in 1963; would Roger Goodell do the same today?
Finally, I am reminded here of a response to the pop psychology book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It seems to apply to NFL players these days:
“Only someone who dies very young learns all they really need to know in kindergarten.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………