The NFL has existed for more than 100 years. Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley became on Monday only the fifth player in league history to be suspended for gambling.
In 1963, Hall of Famers Alex Karras and Paul Hornung both lost a year due to gambling. In 1983, Art Schlicter was suspended for the full year for gambling.
Those suspensions came before the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for legalized gambling in 2018. Since then, Cardinals defensive back Josh Shaw was suspended in 2019 for gambling and, today, Ridley’s suspension was announced.
Surely, these aren’t the only five players who have ever gambled on NFL games. And that’s the challenge for the NFL going forward. How aggressive will the NFL be about catching those who violate the rules?
Ridley was dumb. He placed bets on his own phone. Others will be smart, and thus will be harder to catch. Moreover, the potential issues extend far beyond simply placing bets. (The various concerns are outlined in the essays contained in the final section of Playmakers.)
Moving forward, how often will the NFL suspend players for gambling? It all comes down to how aggressive -- and effective -- the investigations will be. Also, it hinges in large part on how willing the NFL will be to announce to the world on a regular basis that corruption is happening behind Big Shield.
