Have you ever noticed while watching football on your TV, either college or professional, the bottom of the screen has the odds of each team winning or losing? It can seem like useless information, but, just when you think you saw the end of the odds, they put the over-under for points scored on the screen. What do we need with this information? The networks then present the name of the gambling website. Could this be because they want more users to place bets and gamble on teams? Obviously.
Fans have gone to the extreme, even saying that penalties are called on certain teams in order for them to win when gambling. The NFL profits large sums of money because of the advertisements they put on the screens. The NFL makes up to 13 billion dollars in revenue per year due to advertising the gambling websites. 
A very popular team when it comes to winning is the Kansas City Chiefs, but they also are on the hot seat for uncalled penalties. As of week 6-7 in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs are second to last place in penalties, which means they have the second least amount of penalties in the league. This could mean that the Chiefs are playing very penalty-free football, but they are also the only undefeated team in the NFL. It’s very difficult to stay undefeated and have very few penalties.
The Kansas City Chiefs should not be the biggest topic in the sports gambling discussion. It should be the effect gambling has on active NFL players. In April of 2023, 10 active NFL players were suspended for gambling while being active on a roster. 7 of those players were banned for at least a year and missed all of last year’s NFL season. If players are willing to place bets on their own team to win, or possibly lose, then we could have athletes throwing games. This takes the integrity of the game away.
Isaiah Rodgers, a cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was suspended while he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts. In an interview with NBC sports from Philadelphia, Rodgers stated, “I made a mistake, and did my time.” Rodgers was reinstated by the NFL and is playing an important role for the Eagles in this 2024-2025 season.
Sports betting is a huge issue for the NFL, but because it makes a huge profit, you shouldn’t expect it to go away any time soon. With the amount of websites and apps for gambling, the NFL will not see gambling as a topic of discussion because of the positive effects it has, but to the outside world, we can see the problems it creates, like suspensions that could cost a team an important player, or players not playing at full capacity so their bets could win. This is a conundrum for fans and the NFL.
Will there be more restrictions for NFL betting, or will NFL players be heavily monitored so they don’t place bets? These questions need to be answered because these problems could lead to bigger issues and possibly a collapse.
The NFL is one of the biggest companies in the US, and with expansion games in other countries, they can’t afford any problems that would do damage to the NFL’s reputation. So, next time you watch a game, look for the betting odds and think about the control gambling has on professional sports.
