It’s no secret that the NFL fully embraces the rise of legalized sports gambling across the country as the league has capitalized on the new legislation, signing sponsorship deals with sportsbooks that pay millions of dollars in advertising.
Sports gambling is everywhere, and it’s almost impossible to watch an NFL game without being exposed to some sort of advertisement that mentions gambling in sports. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, in the not-so-distant past, the NFL was passionately against sports gambling, as illustrated by an old quote from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that has recently gone viral.
“We remain very much opposed to gambling on sports,” Goodell said back in 2016, according to league insider Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network. “We want to make sure we’re doing what’s right for the game.”
Goodell on gambling: "We remain very much opposed to gambling on sports. …. we want to make sure we're doing what's right for the game."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 19, 2016
Obviously, a lot has changed since then, and this would be an unfathomable thing for him to say these days – just over six years later. And as a result, this quote looks absolutely hilarious in hindsight, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it on Twitter after the unbelievable quote resurfaced this week.
“Definitely against gambling, but for those who are interested in doing it responsibly head over to FanDuel dot com and use code word ROGER to match up to your first $100 deposit.” https://t.co/phTQrtvLO9 pic.twitter.com/yhcYiT2Ybm
— Aaron Quinn (@AaronQuinn716) March 27, 2023
— vish (@vishnchips6) March 27, 2023
Yeah.. very much against it. That's why the advertisements every commercial break is anti gambling… GTFOH Goodell https://t.co/CCc3o4tGB9
— Tom Ernisse (@DolphinsTalkTom) March 27, 2023
This tweet was brought to you by DraftKings.
— Orkleth (@orkleth) March 27, 2023
This message brought to you by Draftkings and Fanduel
— Don (@Don75579491) March 27, 2023
Hmmm….. 👀👁👀
— HurtsToBatman (@HurtsToBatman) March 27, 2023
It’s safe to say we won’t hear Goodell say anything like that again.
