The Denver Broncos will be without defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike. The second-year player has been suspended “indefinitely” after the league discovered he wagered on NFL games.
Uwazurike is the 11th player of the post-PASPA era to violate the league’s betting policy. He is also the eighth to be suspended for apparently betting on league games.
“We were informed by the NFL that Eyioma Uwazurike has been suspended by the league indefinitely for violating its gambling policy,” the Broncos said in a statement. “Our organization fully cooperated with this investigation and takes matters pertaining to the integrity of the game very seriously.”
Uwazurike was on pace to play a bigger role for the team after a solid rookie season. Instead, he will sit out until 2024. As of now, he is still on the Broncos roster.
The NFL continues to double down on educating the league about its six-rule gambling policy. Many coaches, including Broncos head coach Sean Payton, made education on the topic part of OTAs and training camp.
“We got a packet from the league,” Payton said earlier this summer. “Obviously, when policies change, it’s our job to educate [the players]. [Vice president of football operations and compliance] Mark Thewes was awesome. We’re professional teachers. The packet we received, we looked at, studied [it] closely and then we presented it in our own PowerPoint. I probably had 20 minutes on it to really make sure everyone has it.”
The NFL’s General Manager of Sports Betting David Highhill recently delivered a keynote at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) where he mentioned the efforts the educate staff and players but did not directly address the growing list of suspended players.
While the rules around betting on NFL games are a very cut and dry “don’t”, other aspects of the betting policy are less clear. For example, in-season, players can wager on college football and other sports, but they cannot do so when at “team facilities” which runs the gamut from the practice facility parking lot to team hotels when traveling.
