They’re new to the NFL, but they’re already getting involved in gambling, which goes against the NFL’s rules. Giants receiver Malik Nabers talked about a bet he made with his former LSU teammate, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, for the Rookie of the Year award.
Nabers mentioned it during a podcast, and Daniels confirmed it later. They agreed to bet $10,000 on who wins. Daniels seemed to realize it wasn’t something to share publicly, but they had already mentioned it in public conversations.
Their casual attitude reflects the deeper concerns the NFL is dealing with about the increasing number of new players who have grown up in a time when gambling is legal and normalized. The old taboo around gambling is gone. Young players who haven’t followed the NFL closely may not be aware of the rules.
Nabers and Daniels should be informed about this by the NFL before they join the league. We’ve reached out to the NFL about this issue and asked several related questions. Watch the attached video for more discussion on this topic.
The fact that Nabers and Daniels didn’t hesitate to make a significant bet shows a larger issue that the league doesn’t seem to be addressing seriously. This issue stems from the NFL’s contradictory stance on gambling. The league allows team owners to profit from gambling while putting players in a risky situation without proper guidance.
It didn’t have to be this way. The league could have taken a strong stand against gambling and required players to do the same. It could have reminded fans that gambling is designed for them to lose money in the long run.
But the league didn’t do that. It saw an opportunity for easy money and a chance to become the most powerful force in the gambling industry: the house.
