The NFL has reportedly enlisted the help of Tom Brady to educate players about the league's gambling policy after several stars received suspensions this offseason for violations.
Brady, 45, retired from football for the second - and final - time on February 1, but remains adjacent to NFL matters and is a highly-respected figure throughout the league. Whilst at times in his career he clashed with Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league and Brady have now joined forces by asking the long-time New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback to reinforce the seriousness of breaching the policy.
Five players - Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill III, Quintez Cephus, C.J. Moore and Shaka Toney - are suspended for the start of this season. At least two more - Isaiah Rodgers and an as-yet-unnamed Detroit Lions player - are known to be under investigation by the league.
Those bans are for either placing bets on NFL-related events or gambling while within a league facility. They are the only two rules players must adhere to.
Brady, according to 9News Denver, introduces an educational video that every team in the league will watch this year. He reportedly warns players about the realities of ruining their careers by gambling and the reputational damage that betting on NFL games can have on the league, themselves and their teammates.
The privilege of making a living playing professional football is also stressed. Pointing out the prospect of throwing their careers away by betting is particularly poignant when looking at how teams have handled players who have received bans this year.
The Lions immediately released Moore and Cephus after the NFL indefinitely banned them. Berryhill, who, alongside Williams, only received a six-game suspension for gambling on other sports at a team facility, was released in early May.
Of those banned this year, only Williams and Washington Commanders defensive lineman Shaka Toney, another suspended indefinitely, remains under contract. The five suspensions this offseason are double the amount issued in league history.
It follows a loosening of gambling laws in the United States over the last five years. Two of those other five instances have come during the last half a decade. In 2019, Josh Shaw became the first player banned for breaching the policy since Art Schlichter bet on basketball games in 1983.
The Arizona Cardinals defensive back was suspended for the entire 2020 season as punishment for betting on NFL games and has not played a game in the league over the last two years and spent the 2022 season with the Birmingham Stallions in the United States Football League.
Last year also saw former Atlanta Falcons first-round pick Calvin Ridley receive an indefinite suspension, meaning forfeiting $11.1m of salary. Now on the Jacksonville Jaguars, the wide receiver was reinstated in March and is eligible to play in the upcoming season.
Future Hall of Fame inductees Alex Karras and Paul Hornung were banned in 1963 for a season of their careers after betting on NFL games.
