LAS VEGAS — The landscape had already changed in September.
After a a series of player suspensions for violations of the league’s general gaming policy, the NFL and NFLPA collectively bargained in September to reduce the consequences of betting on non-NFL sports in exchange for increased consequences for NFL betting.
With the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas This week, the league’s stance on gambling is once again a hot topic. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that the integrity of the game is “critical” and “our number 1 objective.”
“We clarified our policy earlier this year,” he said. “This was to emphasize the importance to our players that betting on NFL games, inside information or anything that could negatively impact the integrity of our game is absolutely prohibited.”
The players’ union saw an opportunity and addressed it Wednesday at its annual news conference.
“The rules are outdated, aren’t they? NFLPA Vice President Calais Campbell said. “With the technology the way it is, where you can say exactly that it has nothing to do with the integrity of the game, why not give us the opportunity to be able to do the things that make us money as a league. ?
“I feel like we have too many smart people involved in this process. Why can’t we solve this problem? »
The NFLPA marked what it considered a first “fix” for players in late September, when the league dropped the penalty for new violators betting on non-NFL sports, going from a six-game suspension to two matches. Gamblers are not allowed to bet on any sport at NFL facilities or during road trips.
This relaxation has come at a cost: players who bet on their own team now face a minimum two-year ban, while players who bet on an NFL game that does not include their team are subject to fines. a one-year suspension.
Could politics change again in the near future?
On the one hand, the union seems interested in negotiating all the consequences of betting on non-NFL sports. On the other: at what price?
The union appears comfortable with players needing to be held accountable for their bets on matches, stressing that betting on football is a “double no-no”. Lloyd Howell, who is in his first season as executive director of the NFLPA, described the sentiment against betting on NFL games as one that has “no disagreement between the league.” As a result, the players’ union’s influence in convincing the league to further modify this penalty is increasingly less viable.
Howell said he considered non-NFL betting a “workplace violation” rather than a legitimate reason for termination.
“I took on a role where I have the luxury of saying, ‘I don’t understand. Can you explain why betting on baseball in a parking lot results in a one-year or six-game suspension? “I think over time there was a recognition that common sense on some of these legacy issues would prevail. »
The union feels the same way about its push for grass over turf. But neither policy changes during Super Bowl week. And the dynamics for how the next change might come about are murky.
But with labor peace through 2030, the union’s handling of gambling restrictions could set the tone for upcoming collective bargaining. Howell doesn’t start with acrimony.
“When there is a win-win opportunity,” he said, “which is the environment I come from, why not do it instead of just fighting for the sake of it? beat ?”
