NFL Player's Association Warns Agents About Sports Book Snitches That Led To Suspension

Just last month, the NFL suspended five players for gambling, three of which indefinitely.

But how did the league find out about their violations? What about Calvin Ridley?

None of the players informed the NFL that they were violating league policy. They didn't tell on themselves, obviously. Their teammates probably didn't turn them in.

So who did?

Although there is no way of knowing exactly how NFL athletes get busted for breaking the rules — something that they shouldn't be doing in the first place — the NFLPA has an idea. It recently sent a warning to agents about the rat in an email obtained by Pro Football Talk.

All of the recent suspensions arose from players placing bets on their phones through mobile sportsbooks. That may not come as a big surprise, but it is the sportsbooks that are snitching.

During the NFL's investigations we have learned that these apps (like FanDuel) are highly sensitive and very sophisticated at tracking, among other things, user location to be sure that the people using the app are not 'prohibited gamblers' and/or that the person using the app is in a location where they are allowed to place bets on the app.
We have confirmed that some states monitor/audit FanDuel and the other gambling apps to ensure that the companies are in compliance with state law. Further the apps monitor gambler activity. It was as part of that monitoring that the NFL learned of the players using the apps at work in violation of NFL rules.

It's an odd move for the NFLPA to send this email to agents, and not to the players themselves as it is their job to warn players, not agents. Still, though, this warning is significant.

The NFL has primary partnerships with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars sportsbooks. It has secondary partnerships with BetMGM, WynnBET and PointsBet. One of those six books leaked its data to the league, which turned around and handed down suspensions.

Snitches usually get stitches, but in this case, it is the players that need to be smarter. They've been warned. Or, at the very least, their agents have been warned!