Mike Florio ,
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Sanity usually doesn’t prevail as often as it should. When it does, it should be celebrated.
Via Amanda Christovich of FrontOfficeSports.com, the NCAA has rescinded a rule that would have allowed college athletes to bet on professional sports.
The rule had passed NCAA committees in all three college divisions.
Originally, the rule was scheduled to become effective on November 1. After the NBA’s latest gambling scandal, the NCAA pressed pause. (The NCAA reportedly took another look at the rule for multiple reasons.)
A vote of more than two thirds of the 361 NCAA member schools was required to overturn the rule. The decision came 30 minutes before the deadline for overturning the rule, with St. John’s casting the ballot that cliched the cancellation of the proposed change.
It’s the right result. Plenty of players who have made it to professional level still have relationships with former college teammates. The possibility for the misuse of inside information was significant.
Beyond that, it could become more difficult for players who were allowed to bet on pro sports to stop betting on the sport they play, if/when they get to the next level.
And while the sportsbooks will never say it out loud, they surely wanted this rule to pass. The NIL era has created a world in which hundreds of college athletes have plenty of disposable income. The betting companies would have loved nothing more than to be the ones to whom some (or a lot) of that money was disposed.
It’s likely one of the unspoken reasons why leagues like the NFL allow players to bet on sports other than pro football. Pro athletes have money to burn, and their competitive natures can easily spill over to punching a few buttons on their phones for a little extra dopamine.
And their bets will likely be bigger than the dribs and drabs that come from folks who have far less money to waste in the unrealistic quest of becoming a long-time, sustained winner at sports betting.
That last part is an unmistakable truth that is all too often overlooked. While some are smart enough and disciplined enough to win more than they lose, the vast majority lose more than they win. Not nearly enough people who get swept up in the potential ability to get rich quick understand that.
Big Shield combines gambling, pro football, and the mob into a cautionary tale regarding inside information, and the dangers that come from selling it.
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