Cadillac’s Wager Is A Massive Red Flag
November 13th, 2009
Cadillac Williams' big-money bet on the Bucs-Dolphins game with Miami RB Ronnie Brown will no doubt fail the sniff test from Roger Goodell.
Once upon a time back in 1990, two big-name players on opposing teams made bets with each other during a game, just to add a little extra excitement to their fourth quarter performances.
The stars only wanted to outplay each other. A couple of harmless $1,000 bets among millionaires.
No dice.
The commissioner cracked down swiftly, issuing fines to each player and stern warnings.
That was the NBA. The players were Charles Barkley and Mark Jackson.
Of course, professional sports leagues are never going to sanction gambling between players and coaches. It would get out of control. Every week there’d be big action on every game, with coaches, players and general managers challenging their counterparts to bet.
Joe can visualize Bill Parcells, well known for his love of horse racing, offering Mark Dominik 3-1 odds that his Dolphins beat the Bucs on Sunday, or 4-1 odds that the Fins rush for 175 yards on the Bucs’ horrendous run defense.
Where would it stop? Surely Josh Freeman would want to call out Mark Sanchez to put 50 grand on their head-to-head matchup in December.
This all brings Joe to a real-life huge wager between old buddies and college teammates Cadillac Williams and the Dolphins’ Ronnie Brown.
It seems Cadillac Williams has something in common with fellow Auburn alumnus Charles Barkley.
The friendly pair has some hot action on Sunday’s Tampa Bay-Miami game, reports Jim Flynn of PewterReport.com. (For those unfamiliar with PewterReport.com, it’s an Internet-only, media-credentialed Bucs fan message board and news/commentary site.)
Flynn writes that Williams detailed two wagers he has with Brown on Sunday’s game.
They’ve decided to take advantage of the rare occasion by placing a friendly wager on Sunday’s game in Miami. The two friends travel together quite a bit during the offseason, but one of the trips they take together next offseason could become quite costly for the player whose team loses.
Brown and Williams are close, but they aren’t in agreement on the destination of their next vacation, which will last two weeks. Should Brown win the bet, the two friends will vacation in Australia. If the wager falls in Williams’ favor, the two friends will vacation in Africa.
Whoever’s team wins Sunday’s game will pay for the travel expenses associated with one of their offseason ventures. Whoever comes up on the short end of the rushing yards produced in Miami this weekend must pay for the activities on that particular vacation. …
“This could get really, really expensive,” said Williams.
It’s obvious this bet could cost the loser well over $20,000. This is serious money.
Joe hates to be a party pooper, but the Williams-Brown wager on yardage gained in Sunday’s game definitely could compromise the integrity of the game.
Might the bet influence one of them to cut upfield when the smart play is to get out of bounds and stop the clock?
There are countless hypothetical scenarios that make it extraordinarily clear this kind of wagering has no place in the NFL, especially at a monetary level that far exceeds dinner at a top-shelf restaurant.
The Bucs did not repond to an Thursday inquiry seeking comment.
Joe’s very curious to see how warden Roger Goodell reacts to this wager. The Tampa Tribune also references the Williams-Brown bet, so Goodell can’t brush it off because it might lack credibility coming from a Web site.
If Mr. Goodell has no problem with it, Joe would advise every defensive end on the Bucs to immediately bet Gaines Adams $50,000 that they record more sacks than he does this season.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Their biggest mistake is telling someone in the media about it. I understand how, in a hypothetical situation, this could maybe be an issue. But really, I’m willing to bet quite a bit of this goes on all the time between friends. When you’re making multiple million each year, a $20,000 bet isn’t much. I don’t know how much they make, but say its $4 Million a year, which sounds reasonable to me considering they were picked 2 and 4. Scaling that down to the average salary it turns into a $200 bet. It’s something serious, but not something you compromise your professional performance over.
I just don’t see it as an issue.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Joe, how could the bet influence their play? The bet is to win. It’s not which player has the most yards or TDs or anything. Right?
November 13th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Joe here,
Matt, says right in the story that they’re betting on who gaines more yards. …
“Whoever comes up on the short end of the rushing yards produced in Miami this weekend must pay for the activities on that particular vacation. …
“This could get really, really expensive,” said Williams.
Enough said.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:28 am
CharlieB:
You are right. This likely happens all the time. And likely for you and me, this is somewhat of a non-issue.
But most sports leagues are beyond hypersensative to gambling. Joe knows this drives gamblers crazy, but the NFL (among other leagues) want no hint that any of their players have money on the line (other than thier salary or salary bonuses) in any form as it gives the impression that the games may not be on the up and up.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Joe, oops, my bad. Just read the winning part.
Yeah, probably happens all the time thought. He just should’t have said anything. I’m sure it wouldn’t actually affect his pay. The guy makes millions, he isn’t going to worry about ~20K or so.
November 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am
“gaines” ??? on the brain?
Think about what you are going to say before you say it, Cadi. What will the response be? Cadi, Antonio Bryant and Raheem all sound like idiots every time they open their mouths. They should be barred from public speaking for life. Cadi run the ball and shut up, you’re doing a great job. Antonio get healed up and then play. Looks like the Bucs wasted another huge chunk of cash on him too. Raheem, I just don’t want to get into that. The Bucs are what, $30 Mil under the cap. They have another $10 Mil or so on IR or paid out with dumb roster moves, trades, etc. Then take the wasted money on bad signings like Clayton and Antonio & Leftwich. This team if managed properly could be $75 Mil under the cap and still have the same garbage results. Oh, I forgot, how much are Chucky and Brucey getting? Sounds more like the US Congress than a Pro Team.
Go Lightning!!! what a comeback the other night. 2 Shootout Goals. Way to go Stammers, Vinnie, Bugsy. I think I may have to trade in Bucs tickets for Lightning Tickets next year. This team is getting better. Besides, better seats, more seats, more games, less money. pretty much a no brainer there, and no F’ing $25 parking fees.