The pearl-clutching over a Rookie of the Year bet between Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers is much ado about nothing

To anyone who thinks a Rookie of the Year bet between Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers is a symptom of a larger gambling problem in the NFL: please go outside and touch a few blades of grass.

I don’t imagine that sentence applies to the majority of us, who are reasonable enough to understand teammates – like Daniels and Nabers were at LSU – will gamble amongst themselves. It happened before the federal ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018 and it’ll continue to happen as long as athletes share locker rooms and spend countless hours together building bonds beyond the sports they play. It’s human nature.

For the few who seem to think this is a direct result of legal betting and the relationship between sports leagues and sportsbooks, like Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who called the $10,000 bet between Daniels and Nabers “a symptom of a far deeper problem that the league seemingly isn’t taking seriously,” you’re wrong.

While it’s true the friendly bet does go against the most recent version of the NFL’s gambling policy, which restricts player betting on the league of any kind, it’s quite obvious what those rules are attempting to accomplish. They’re meant to protect the NFL’s integrity by closing avenues through which players can potentially use inside information or personal influence to impact the outcomes of their games. And they also want to keep gambling away from team facilities.

But I truly doubt the NFL ever believed it could stop friendly interpersonal wagers — nor does it even try. It’s why we’ve never heard of a player being suspended for playing card games for money on a team flight, even though that’s technically against the rules too. Because that doesn’t harm the league’s integrity.

You know what else doesn’t hurt the league’s integrity? Two first-year players doing their best to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Because that’s what they hopefully would have done anyway. A little side-wager for if one actually wins is simply icing on the cake for the victor. For Florio to blame the NFL’s relationship with sportsbooks as a potential reason why these ex-teammates who haven’t even played a down yet in the NFL made a bet with each other is more of a reach than Victor Wembanyama blocking a 3-pointer.

Daniels and Nabers shouldn’t have publicized their bet, because they’ll almost certainly hear about it from the league now that it’s out. But it’s ultimately a lot to do about nothing. Save the faux outrage for when it’s necessary.