The big news in the sports world on Monday was that Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for at least the 2022 NFL season for betting on games.
NFL suspended Falcons WR Calvin Ridley for the 2022 season for betting on games.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2022
Ridley, who had taken a mental health leave of absence from the team on October 31st, was found to have bet on “multi-legged parlay bets involving 3, 5 and 8 games that included the Falcons to win, per source. Investigation determined there was no involvement from any team players, coach etc. placed via his mobile device out of state,” according to Adam Schefter.
The wide receiver went to Twitter trying to add context to the situation, saying that he, “bet 1500 total[.] I don’t have gambling problem“.
There has been – to no surprise – plenty of banter on the bird app about whether the NFL’s punishment for Ridley is too harsh, if the league is hypocritical, and if players should actually be allowed to place wagers on sports.
I don’t want to get into the mud on all of that, but the NFL did what they had to do in order to keep some integrity in their sport – for now. With the legalization of sports gambling across the country, this is going to be a very slippery slope for years to come across all of American professional sports.
You can actually bet on what league will suspend a player next. BetOnline.ag posted the below odds yesterday:
Next League to Suspend a Player for Gambling
NBA +150
NHL +200
MLB +250
NFL +450
The NBA has some of the most liberal rules for their players across all of pro sports – but I still don’t think they would tolerate sports betting of any kind.
Evander Kane, an NHL hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers, was accused of sports betting by his wife back in July of 2021. However, after a thorough investigation by the league, they found no evidence of this happening.
The MLB has made an example out of Pete Rose – effectively banishing him from the sport. I have a hard time believing an MLB player is going to risk this to make a few bucks trying to bet on something like the home run derby champion.
The NFL has suspended five players in their history for sports gambling, two of which have been in the past three years:
NFL Players Suspended for Gambling:
⁰?1963 Alex Karras ⁰?1963 Paul Hornung ⁰?1983 Art Schlichter ⁰?2019 Josh Shaw ⁰?2022 Calvin Ridley— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2022
The NFL at +450 could be the best one to take, and you can bet on who the next person will be using BetOnline. Here are their odds:
Next NFL Personnel to be Suspended for Gambling
Antonio Brown +350
Odell Beckham Jr. +500
Deshaun Watson +650
Jameis Winston +700
Sammy Watkins +800
Robert Kraft +800
Jon Gruden +900
Richard Sherman +1000
Dan Snyder +1200
Darren Waller +1600
Rob Gronkowski +1800
DeSean Jackson +2500
Cam Newton +2500
Jerry Jones +2500
Aaron Rodgers +3300
Jim Irsay +3300
Kliff Kingsbury +3300
Tom Brady +5000
Sean McVay +5000
Brian Flores +6600
One thing that stands out to me here: what the heck does BetOnline know about Sammy Watkins?! That is by far the most random person on this list – and he has the fourth shortest odds (+800) behind only AB, OBJ, Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston.
There’s really no true insight into this bet, so taking the long shots – specifically the owners like Jerry Jones (+2500), and Jim Irsay (+3300), would be the best way to play this one. The league is making an example out of Ridley, so I doubt another player will take this chance for a while.
With sports betting continuing to remain at the forefront, it will be interesting to see where the rest of professional sports leagues go from here.
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