Problematic Parlays: NFL Players Suspended

It’s no secret that sports betting has exploded across the United States. If you follow sports at all, chances are you’ve been bombarded with betting advertisements for companies like FanDuel, DraftKings, or PrizePicks. 

With the number of betting ads getting shoved in peoples’ faces everyday, it is difficult for die-hard sports fans to ignore the chance to make some cash and add extra excitement to the games they watch whether it’s basketball, football or soccer or other sports. Many sites lure in potential bettors by giving them a “risk-free” first bet (a bet where the bettor gets their money back if they don’t win).

Although the rise in sports betting is undeniable, is this colossal increase good for society? 

Ameen Berjis, a junior at the School and avid sports fan, doesn’t think so. He stated, “I think the rise of sports betting is a bad thing because I don’t know anyone that’s actually in the positives [made money] with their sports betting. It’s just a trap that once you get sucked in it’s really hard to get out. I know people that have tried to quit but they relapse (back into betting).”  

However, it isn’t just everyday fans, watching from the couch, who are allured by the dopamine rush of potentially winning a big bet. Over the past couple of years, several National Football League (NFL) players have been suspended for betting on NFL games. 

Jacksonville Jaguars Wide Receiver, Calvin Ridley was the first player caught. In March of 2022, while a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 NFL season for betting on NFL games. After Ridley’s suspension, the issue remained dormant until this past off-season where a whopping ten players across five different teams in the NFL were suspended. Seven players were suspended indefinitely (for at least a year), while the other three were suspended for six games. Furthermore, six of the players were subsequently released from their teams after being suspended. At first glance these punishments might seem fair; the NFL players attempted to profit off an industry in which they had the ability to control the outcomes. However, according to a CBS report from NFL insider Jonathan Jones, among the first five players suspended last off-season, the NFL found “no evidence indicating that insider information was used or any game was compromised.”  In other words, the players did not bet on any games they played in or had insider knowledge about. They merely acted like everyday football fans, betting on games they had no control over. 

The fairness of the suspensions is further thrown into question by the NFL’s obscene profit off of these betting companies. In April of 2021, the NFL announced their first ever U.S sportsbook partnerships with FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars Entertainment, worth up to a whopping 1 billion dollars. 

Berjis commented on the NFL players getting suspended, stating, “I do not feel that it’s fair. When a league or entity is promoting something and then they punish their players for using it, it shows that they’re doing it just for profit and they don’t care about their players…It’s hypocrisy in my opinion.” 

He further added, “As long as [the league has] sponsorships from betting companies, there should be no punishment [for betting on games on other teams games], but if the league gets rid of the sponsorships, and they make a point that they’re not condoning it and they don’t support it in anyway, then they are morally allowed to ban players.” 

Overall, it is evident that the NFL needs to fully come to terms on its relationship with sports betting. Will the league change their policies or will they continue to suspend players for partaking in an industry from which they profit greatly?