The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) recently issued an alert to agents, telling them to inform players to be cautious if they take part in sports betting.
The alert comes less than two weeks after five players (including four members of the Detroit Lions) were suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Perhaps the most prominent name on the list is Lions 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams, who is suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season. Williams missed 11 games last year during his recovery from an ACL tear that he suffered during the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Former 1,000-yard receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended indefinitely for betting on games during the 2021 season and missed the entire 2022 campaign due to the suspension. He was acquired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in November last year and was reinstated to the NFL in March.
According to covers.com, 34 states (plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) currently offer legal sports betting, with nine more states “moving toward” legalization in 2023. Per senior sports betting editor Michael Duchesne, there are only seven states that are “unlikely” to legalize sports betting — Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.
