Ryan Gold, an executive with the Arizona Cardinals, is in the process of appealing his suspension from the NFL after an investigation claimed he breached the league's gambling regulations.
Gold has been accused of leaking details about the Cardinals' draft picks this year, with implications that this information was then used for betting purposes.
According to the league's announcement on Friday, the investigation also found that Gold engaged in placing parlay bets on both NFL and college games.
Having spent the last 13 seasons with the Cardinals in their college scouting department, Gold was elevated to the role of director of college scouting in June 2022. While recent gambling scandals have surfaced in other major sports like the NBA, MLB, NCAA, and MLS, this marks the first significant betting controversy to affect the NFL in several years.
Gold's attorney, Mike Caspino, has strongly denied the allegations, characterizing them as "blatantly false."
"Ryan Gold has been an outstanding NFL executive for over a decade," Caspino remarked in an interview. "The accusations made by the league regarding his participation in prohibited gambling activities are blatantly false. We have demanded an appeal, and we look forward to clearing his good name."
The Cardinals have voiced their support for the NFL's decision to suspend Gold. A spokesperson stated, "The NFL’s policies and expectations for all employees are clear, comprehensive, and consistently communicated. We fully support the league’s decision in this matter, which involves a single employee."
Gold's alleged involvement in gambling does not include charges of attempting to influence the outcomes of games. Instead, the focus has been on the league's rules, which explicitly prohibit anyone associated with the NFL from engaging in any form of sports gambling, as well as from sharing non-public information with third parties. The league has noted its strict stance against prediction markets as well, having warned players and employees at the beginning of the prior season that trading on these platforms is forbidden.
In a twist, Caspino indicated that Gold's wife had supposedly placed $10 bets on parlays with friends, asserting that Gold was not involved in those activities.
The NFL emphasized its commitment to maintaining the integrity of the game, stating, "Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected, the league takes any violation of the Gambling Policy with the utmost seriousness."
In another development, the Cardinals drafted Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in the recent NFL Draft. Love's odds shifted dramatically leading up to the draft; DraftKings had him at +1000 a week prior, which narrowed to +600 by Saturday, +400 by Sunday, and further down to +225 by the following Monday. On draft day, April 23, his odds were listed at +180.
Simultaneously, the Cardinals’ likelihood of selecting Love had soared from 7% to roughly 29% on that same day, as reported on Kalshi.
Just days ahead of the draft, ESPN's Adam Schefter noted a rising buzz indicating that Love might be in play for Arizona's third pick. He tweeted about the discussions happening within league circles leading up to the event.
Caspino contends that Gold, not being privy to the final draft decisions, could not have possibly leaked any information. According to him, only team owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort were aware of the selection.
