As Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley prepares to face the team that traded him away while he served a one-year suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, Friday’s news regarding changes to the policy provide an intriguing P.S. to Ridley’s saga.
Under the new version of the gambling policy, he would have been suspended for two years.
That’s the most dramatic increase in punishment under the new policy. Bet on your team, and be suspended at least two years. Ridley did indeed bet on Falcons games, even though he wasn’t with the team at the time. (He was on the non-football illness list when the bets were placed, in November 2021.)
Although the NFL used the reduction in the punishment for betting on other sports at work from six games to two to reinstate players who were serving six-game suspensions (most notably, Lions receiver Jameson Williams), the NFL did not try to retroactively resume Ridley’s suspension. Even though the NFL has full control over the gambling policy, that would have been a horrible look for the league — and it might have given the NFL Players Association the basis for launching a compelling fight on Ridley’s behalf that the league was trying to apply a standard that didn’t exist when he broke the rules.
Regardless, that’s the biggest thing players should realize as a result of the new policy. Bet on games involving your team, and you’ll be suspended for not at least one year but for at least two years.
