The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to adjust the existing gambling policy regarding players, which will immediately reinstate some suspended players.
The league is reinstating Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere effective Monday, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported. Williams and Petit-Frere had two weeks remaining on their existing suspensions before Friday’s policy changes.
The adjustments include increased penalties for players who bet on NFL games – including the possibility of a lifetime ban – and a reduction in penalties for players who place bets on other sports at work or while working.
“The NFL and the NFL Players Association share a longstanding and unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the game,” the league and players union said in a joint statement Friday. “The NFL regularly reviews the gambling policy in consultation with the NFLPA and clubs to ensure it is responsive to changing circumstances and fully meets this obligation.”
Betting on NFL games will result in an indefinite ban of at least one year, or two years if a player bets on a contest with his team. Actual or attempted match-fixing will result in a permanent ban from the NFL, while providing inside information and tips will result in an indefinite ban (at least one year), as will third-party or proxy betting.
The most significant change outside the NFL arena reduces penalties for betting on other sports in the workplace, calling for two-game suspensions without pay for first-time offenders and six-game suspensions (also without pay) for second-time offenders. and a suspension without pay for at least one year for a third violation. Williams and Petit-Frere were previously suspended six games for betting on non-NFL sports at a team facility. Under the changed policy, they would have been suspended two games.
According to a memo obtained by NFL Network’s Judy Battista, the NFL commissioner will consider, among other things, certain patterns of behavior and betting history, as well as the player in question’s access to confidential information or ability to influence a game in any way. Self-reporting violations, accepting responsibility and cooperating with league investigators may serve as mitigating factors in determining penalties.
The NFL has suspended a handful of players since implementing its gambling policy, including a few rounds of suspensions before the start of the 2023 season. Williams and Petit-Frère are the only suspended players directly affected by this policy change.