The NFL has another problem on their hands, and it is causing a lot of players to miss a lot of games. Luckily so far, the New York Jets have been able to dodge the bullet and hopefully they will be able to keep that going.

The commissioner and the NFL have been dealing with a lot of issues involving player conduct over the course of the last 14 years since Roger Goodell took over – including PED’s, substance abuse, marijuana, gun possession and domestic violence.

Now, we can add gambling to the list.

In the past few seasons more and more states have legalized sports betting allowing more people instant access to placing wagers on sporting events. Gone are the days of Joe the Bookie and here are the days of FanDuel, Draft Kings, Bet MGM and others. Instant sports betting from an app on your phone.

The NFL has come down hard and swift on sports gambling in the wake of the new wave of legal sports betting. They tried to make an example of star wide receiver then for the Atlanta Falcons, Calvin Ridley. He was suspended for the entire 2022 season for wagering on NFL games.

Message sent. Do not wager on sports.

Despite the NFL’s harsh punishment, we have seen nine players suspended for betting on sports, so far. More specifically, Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders, Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore of the Detroit Lions, free agents Demetrius Taylor and Rashod Berry, and Isaiah Rodgers of the Indianapolis Colts have all been suspended indefinitely for at least the 2023 season.

Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams of the Lions and Nicholas Petit-Frere of the Tennessee Titans have been suspended for six games. The Colts subsequently announced that both Rodgers and Berry have been waived as a consequence of their suspensions.

So, here’s where things get tricky and here is where common sense needs to take over. Starting with Rodgers. Sources familiar with the activity on the online sportsbook account used by Rodgers said that upward of 100 bets were placed, including at least one wager on a game involving the Colts. The majority of which were in the $25-$50 range. The largest wager placed through the account was a $1,000 prop bet on the over/under on rushing yards by a Colts running back, which won.

You gamble on your own team, you should be suspended indefinitely and frankly, your return to the NFL should be in serious question. This man has a direct hand in the outcome of a game.

That is not only a dangerous slope for the team, but for the thousands of players who wagered their money on a fair contest. The punishment for Rodgers should be severe, more so than even Ridley received.

On the other side of the coin, we have Petit-Frere, who was suspended six games for betting on other sports at the workplace.

In a statement Petit-Frere said, "The betting I engaged in was NOT NFL related and was legal under Tennessee law. It is only being sanctioned because it occurred at the Titans facility.”

He wasn’t betting on the Titans. He wasn’t even betting on NFL football. He was suspended simply for placing a legal wager in the Titans facility. What are we doing? Had he taken one step on to the sidewalk it would have been okay? This is ridiculous and needs to be rectified.

Any player or coach, current or retired, will tell you that guys place wagers in the locker room all the time, especially on college football. If they do it legally through an app there should be no issue, even if they happen to open their phone in the confines of the team facility. 

This doesn’t have to be so complicated. Players and coaches in the NFL should not be allowed to gamble on the NFL. If it is legal to place a wager, and someone does it on any sport outside of the NFL, then there should be no issue.

But the discipline that comes from placing bets on NFL games -especially a player betting on his own team- needs to be a zero-tolerance policy and it needs to be presented as such in the most concise way, possible. 

So far, the Jets seem to understand this and it's safe to assume Robert Saleh and co. intend to keep it that way.

Featured Image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports