Calvin Ridley suspended for the 2022 season for betting on NFL games

It’s been a good while since we’ve had a prominent NFL player suspended for betting on games, but that drought is now over.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who has been away from the team since October for mental health reasons, has been suspended by the NFL after an investigation revealed that he’d placed bets on league games. While we’re now in a world where you can’t go 5 minutes on a sports broadcast without a gambling and/or daily fantasy ad on the screen, players are still not allowed to gamble on NFL games per CBA rules.

For what it’s worth, the NFL’s investigation didn’t find any evidence that anyone within the Falcons organization knew that Ridley was betting, and “that any game was compromised in any way” through Calvin having inside information.

The Athletic has some extra details:

A source informed of the investigation told The Athletic Ridley placed three parlays, a three-team, five-team and eight-team, and bet on the Falcons to win in each of them. The bets were all made between Nov. 23-28. The Falcons beat the Jaguars on Nov. 28.

And it looks like we know how he got caught:

Ridley’s suspension means his contract will toll, so he’ll remain under contract with the Falcons until at least 2023 depending on whether or not his suspension extends beyond the 2022 season. He was thought to be a potential trade target with his rookie deal approaching its end, but that’s off the table.

Ridley is now the 5th player in NFL history to get the hammer dropped for gambling and only the second one inside of the last 40 years.

Calvin never released an official statement and has opted to tweet through it.