The NFL seems to be increasingly cracking down on gambling among not just its players but its non-player employees as well. There has been great emphasis put on it this offseason in the wake of half a dozen or more players being hit with year-long suspensions due to gambling activities in which they partook, with one player reportedly losing $8 million alone.
But does the league really have the soft authority to take this stance? Of course, they can put in place any rules and regulations they wish as long as they don’t violate any laws, state or federal. But Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues that the NFL compromises its position through its own actions, likening it to a recent major shakeup in the sports world with the PGA Tour shockingly announcing a merger with its burgeoning upstart rival in the Middle East, the LIV.
“It’s no less hypocritical than what the PGA Tour did, preaching against Saudi Arabian investment in golf and then doing an about-face once the money was good enough for those in charge of the PGA Tour”, Florio said on 93.7 The Fan with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “Forget everything they said”.
As you might be aware, LIV Golf was founded in 2021, largely funded by money coming out of the Saudi Arabian monarchy. They instantly headhunted the PGA Tour’s top talent, with Tiger Woods, for example, reportedly refusing an offer worth north of $700 million to participate. Many other prominent golfers also turned down massive offers as the Tour went after the LIV’s credibility and ethics—only to suddenly announce a merger, rendering all of its prior criticisms moot.
“There are quotes from Roger Goodell back in 2009 when Delaware was fighting the federal law that prohibited the spread of sports gambling beyond Nevada”, Florio pointed out, going back to the NFL, “and once New Jersey attacked that law and one, the NFL abandoned everything it ever said about why it doesn’t want legalized gambling, because it can make a ton of money off it”.
The league shut down events held by players that even tangentially involved gambling sponsorships prior to its complete 180-degree reversal once the laws changed. Now the NFL is partnered with every conceivable sportsbook company out there and encourages as much gambling as possible—from everybody but its players.
“It’s not a moral issue, but the question is, within the confines of the building, within the boundaries of the shield, do they have the moral authority to employees, players and non-players alike, what you can and can’t do when it comes to gambling when they are making tens if not hundreds of millions from gambling sponsorships”, Florio said. “I think it makes it difficult to have the clarity necessary to tell the players and the non-players what these rules are, and I think they kind of know it. I think the hypocrisy weighs you down”.
Of course, all of this is academic and holds no sway. I doubt the NFL particularly cares whether its stance has the appearance of hypocrisy. At the same time, players must also consider the fact that any profits the league gains from partnering with sportsbook platforms raises the coffers shared by the players when it comes time to dividing up the salary cap, so it’s good for the gander as much as the goose.
