Malik Nabers, Gambling, and Idiocy

[zephirus]

Malik Nabers and his former LSU teammate Jayden Daniels (selected 2nd overall) have confirmed across a couple podcasts that they have a 10k wager on Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

https://sports.yahoo.com/malik-nabers-jayden-daniels-10-144629179.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAK31MPpUflp7eX36ri48jUqOR9s9pWz2_JO_PuyF7xDWW3s-gVptfcQdhCHi0AsC4kqcOPPMgeY3Z4aBt7SOpIUHNAe6h05b6ZCcA9yxzLjm1BPmcw5rI1Ta2TnQf3VKsE26okeJb42L_3bkHk-CpBd6hFNd2Noq-Qt6ysTfncfc

Well written article and candidly points out how desensitized young players are now with regards to gambling.  They've grown up in an environment where it was a laughable offense to now where it's totally legal.  The NFL does NOTHING to discourage gambling, they saw free money and they took it and yet try to hold players to a standard that belies how complicit they are.  They slapped a few players with suspensions a few years ago and have since moved the goal-posts and changed the rules.  I don't know that anything will become of this, but shame on Malik Nabers for not knowing the rules.  Shame on him for unabashedly and publicly admitting to gambling.  Shame on Nabers and Daniels for making 5 figure bets in a profession they ultimately have not proven themselves in and their lifetime earnings may not reflect what they think they're going to make.  And shame on the NFL for not better educating players on the policy.

[MightyGiants]

If they both claim the bet was made before the draft, I am pretty sure the NFL gambling policy doesn't apply.   In that case, I would think the NFL would just tell them to rescind the bet.  Plus, when did the NFL inform these players of their gambling policy?   Also, when do drafted players officially become NFL players?

[MightyGiants]

The pearl-clutching over a Rookie of the Year bet between Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers is much ado about nothing

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/05/jayden-daniels-malik-nabers-bet-rookie-of-the-year-pearl-clutching

[AZGiantFan]

Daniels and Nabers shouldn't have publicized their bet, because they'll almost certainly hear about it from the league now that it's out. But it's ultimately a lot to do about nothing. Save the faux outrage for when it's necessary.

Totally agree.  Not surprised that Florio is one of the ones trying to mountainize this molehill.

[MightyGiants]

Totally agree.  Not surprised that Florio is one of the ones trying to mountainize this molehill.

Mike has a long history of doing that.  Sometimes, he succeeds, but more often than not, he fails in his efforts.

[zephirus]

As I alluded, I doubt there will be any investigation or punishment.  That doesn't mean it's not a problem.  Of course players are going to make friendly wagers.  In the pre-social media era, that would not be a problem.  It actually probably wouldn't be a problem now either should they have kept their gentleman's wager to themselves.  The fact that neither thought twice about telling the media is a big deal.  And the fact that while this is a gray area that likely has no teeth - the simple reality is that NFL players should not bet on anything NFL related in any capacity. 

"You know what else doesn't hurt the league's integrity? Two first-year players doing their best to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Because that's what they hopefully would have done anyway. A little side-wager for if one actually wins is simply icing on the cake for the victor."  I could not disagree more with this.  While it's true that it incentivizes them to perform, it also now incentivizes them to play for themselves.  You could say "it's 10k and not a big deal to either".  Well, what if this was 100k?  or more?  How long before Nabers starts screaming at Daniel Jones and coaches that he needs to get more looks and targets?  How much does it influence Jayden Daniels to try and make a miracle play rather than eating a sack or throwing the ball away? 

[MightyGiants]

Baker Mayfield is a man of his word.

The Cleveland Browns quarterback honored his Offensive Rookie of the Year bet with New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley by giving the former Penn State star an iced-out chain paying tribute to Barkley's larger than life quads.

https://x.com/saquon/status/1142280137624313856

"It's for a chain," Barkley said in February. "The loser's got to get someone else a chain. We get to pick the chain and we get to have fun with it because obviously everyone's talking about who's going to win, and at the end of the day we'd love to see each other win, but we'd also love to see ourselves win too, but we made a little bet with it just to show how friendly we are that it's bigger than just the award."

Barkley ended up receiving the honors and Friday night posted his diamond-encrusted trophy for all to see on Twitter. Mayfield did not reveal how much he paid to commission Barkley's prize.

"It'll say 'Quads' on it, not 'Sa-quads' but just 'Quads,'" Mayfield said in February. "The two extra letters in there cost a little bit extra money, so we'll stick with just 'Quads.'

The chain certainly makes sense, given how massive Barkley's quads are, earning him the appropriate nickname of "Saquad."

Perhaps the next wager could be who finishes with MVP honors first. After all, three letters might be considerably cheaper than five.



https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sports/baker-mayfield-honors-roy-bet-between-saquon-barkley-with-diamondencrusted-chain-200619271.html#:~:text=Baker%20Mayfield%20is%20a%20man,Barkley's%20larger%20than%20life%20quads.&text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20for%20a%20chain%2C%E2%80%9D%20Barkley%20said%20in%20February.

[Doc16LT56]

I'm pretty sure players have been making these kinds of bets for as long as sports have existed.

The biggest takeaway for me is the need to coach young players to not put all their business out there. There's too much exposure with podcasts and social media. So young players have to be coached to exercise discretion in those informal settings.

We don't need to know all their business. Today it's a simple bet, and it sounds like Jayden Daniels was surprised Nabers made the bet public. Who knows what he'll be talking about tomorrow. How much grief could have been spared for the boat trip players if that photo was never made public? Young players need to learn to keep these things private, and then when they're retired they can share all the war stories they want.

[DaveBrown74]

I'm pretty sure players have been making these kinds of bets for as long as sports have existed.

The biggest takeaway for me is the need to coach young players to not put all their business out there. There's too much exposure with podcasts and social media. So young players have to be coached to exercise discretion in those informal settings.

We don't need to know all their business. Today it's a simple bet, and it sounds like Jayden Daniels was surprised Nabers made the bet public. Who knows what he'll be talking about tomorrow. How much grief could have been spared for the boat trip players if that photo was never made public? Young players need to learn to keep these things private, and then when they're retired they can share all the war stories they want.

Agreed, Doc. I don't really have an issue with the bet itself. Would people feel differently if it were $200 instead of 10 grand? Because $10k to these guys is like $200 to most regular Joes. $10k may even be less to them. A society that is obsessed with gambling (not just on sports but on stocks, real estate, crypto, art, etc) probably shouldn't be judging these kids for making a competitive proposition bet with each other.

What I think was foolish and unnecessary on their parts was publicizing it. But that's inevitably going to happen more these days with the advent of social media than it did 20 years ago and earlier.

[kartanoman]

Yes, there's the ethics/morals aspect but there's a bigger picture as well. When you start publicky sharing with the world your "worth," you potentially open yourself to bad people showing up in your life disguised as good folks with good intentions who are out for one thing. On the other hand, it can potentially set you up for getting robbed if you're not careful.

The point is to be smart and think carefully about the consequences of anything you post in the public domain. No amount of money makes you immune to the consequences of your own foolish postings.

Peace!

[MightyGiants]

I am confused as to why Nabers is being called out for his bet, but Barkley got a free pass for his bet with Baker Mayfield.  They both made their bets public.  They appear to be for around the same dollar amount.

[Philosophers]

Bet on them being rookie of the year?  What's the harm?

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/RalphVacchiano/status/1788981459702648868

[EDjohnst1981]

It was dumb. Nothing more, nothing less. Let's hope he learns from it.

[T200]

Meanwhile, the NFL's deal with Caesar's, DraftKings, and FanDuel are still intact.