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The Indianapolis Colts said Monday they are aware the NFL has opened a gambling investigation into one of the team’s players but would not discuss any additional details.
The confirmation came shortly after reports of a possible infraction of the league’s gambling policies first surfaced. The player under investigation has not been publicly disclosed, but ESPN.com reported a sportsbook account had been opened under the name of an associate of cornerback and kick returner Isaiah Rodgers Sr.
According to ESPN, 100 or so bets were placed under the account with most in the $25-$50 range, and some of the bets were made on Colts games.
Rodgers responded to the report on Twitter.
“I know I have made mistakes and I am willing to do whatever it takes to repair the situation,” he wrote. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was to be a distraction to the Colts organization, my coaches, and my teammates. I’ve let people down that I care about.
“I made an error in judgment and I am going to work hard to make sure that those mistakes are rectified through this process. It’s an honor to play in the NFL and I have never taken that lightly. I am very sorry for all of this.”
Rodgers, a sixth-round draft pick in 2020, is in the final year of his four-year $3.4 million rookie contract and was in line to play more minutes this season after the Colts traded another starter, Stephon Gilmore, to Dallas during the offseason. He started nine games in 2022.
The Colts are conducting workouts this week at the team facility, but nobody from the team is scheduled to speak to the media until Wednesday.
The NFL suspended five players in April, four from the Detroit Lions, for gambling infractions. The Lions released three of those players—receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill and safety C.J. Moore. Cephus and Moore were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games while Berryhill and receiver Jameson Williams each drew six-game suspensions for gambling on non-NFL games. Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, remains on Detroit’s roster.
Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney also was given an indefinite suspension in April for betting on NFL games and in 2022, the NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley for the entire season for the same infraction. Ridley was reinstated in March and is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s not the first time the Colts have been involved in a gambling allegation.
In 1983, former quarterback Art Schlichter, the No. 4 selection in the 1982 NFL draft, was suspended indefinitely after he agreed to testify against bookies he owed money to. Then-commissioner Pete Rozelle reduced the punishment to 13 months and he was reinstated for the 1984 season.
But the Colts released Schlichter early in 1985 after rumors surfaced that he had continued gambling. Schlichter was the first NFL player to be suspended for gambling since Alex Karras and Paul Hornung in 1963.
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If Mr. Rogers bet on Colts games, I suspect he has played his last NFL game. Players caught betting on NFL games in which they play is the most serious offense a player can commit, in the eyes of NFL executives. If he is allowed to return, every single play he fails to make will be viewed in a whole new light, particularly if the play impacts the betting lines. Sorry to see this happen to him. I think his contrition is a last ditch effort to try and salvage his career.
$ 840,000 per year and he need to pick up a 10-1 for $25 in a game he played in, you ever hear the saying pissing in your post toasties!
This is why gambling being increasingly promoted as it has been the last few years and the NFL’s greed for more revenue has been a negative, corrupting influence on the game. People often do not like simplicity and truth, but this is not good for society or the game. Are we that starved for entertainment and “fun” in our culture that we have to be betting on everything around us? Too much money and too much time is usually not a good thing for people and our declining values and morality are continuing to spiral downward. Our prosperity which is a blessing becomes a curse when we do not use restraint.