'Outdated!' Falcons DL Calais Campbell Wants NFL Gambling Rule Changed
When Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Calais Campbell speaks, people listen.
The 37-year-old Campbell, who doubles as the NFL Player Association's vice president, has a Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy to his resume and is widely viewed as one of the most respected players in the league.
Campbell added another honor Wednesday, when he was named the 2024 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award winner after donating $150,000 to under-resourced teachers from the four cities of teams he's spent time with - the Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars - following career sack No. 100 this past season.
Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, Campbell proudly noted his gratitude to win the award.
Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Calais Campbell receives the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award at the NFLPA Press Conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center prior to Super Bowl LVIII.
Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
But upon receiving his award, Campbell changed hats - from award winner to vice president.
With the recent rise of gambling suspensions, Campbell was asked about the severity of the issue ... and assessed some of the blame to the NFL's policies.
"The rules are outdated, right?" Campbell said, via Yahoo Sports. "With technology the way it is, where you can tell exactly that it has nothing to do with the integrity of the game, why not give us the opportunity to be able to do the things that we're making money off of as a league?"
The most recent NFL-related gambling controversy came from New England Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte, who's accused of placing nearly 9,000 bets in a 13-month period during his time at Louisiana State University.
The NFL suspended 10 players for gambling in 2023, a situation that arose just a year after Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for the entire season due to placing bets.
Ridley, though he was inactive for the game, once bet on the Falcons, so he doesn't necessarily apply -but the NFL currently has a rule in place prohibiting any bets from inside the team's facility.
Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was suspended six games for violating that policy, even though his bets weren't involving the Titans.
The same situation happened to a pair of Detroit Lions receivers in Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill, who were suspended last spring after placing bets on college games from Detroit's property.
As gambling infractions grow, so too does NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's concern over the game's integrity.
But for Campbell, who intends on playing his 17th professional season this fall, non-NFL-game related aspects of the matter are simple - and he's left scratching his head as to why they're still an issue.
"I feel like we have too many smart people who are involved in this process," Campbell said. "Why can't we get that fixed?"
