Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely through the end of the 2022 season for betting on games in the 2021 season, and has lost his base salary of $11.1 million for 2022, the NFL announced on Monday.
“I bet $1,500 total. I don’t have a gambling problem,” the 27-year old Ridley wrote on Twitter regarding his three parlay bets.
Ridley later wrote: “I know I was wrong, but I’m getting one year. lol.”
The gambling may have occurred when Ridley was on hiatus from the team for five days as he took time off for mental health issues beginning Oct. 7, 2021.
The franchise supported him and allowed him to remain home as they traveled to London, England, for a game against the Jets.
Ridley is eligible to apply for reinstatement on Feb. 15, 2023.
This is only the second time in the past four decades that the NFL has suspended a player for gambling.
The Falcons released a statement on Monday saying that they had cooperated with the NFL’s month-long investigation, resulting in a suspension letter released by commissioner Roger Goodell.
“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success—and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league—than upholding the integrity of the game,” Goodell wrote. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.”
Ridley played just five games in 2021 due to mental health reasons. He had 31 total receptions for 281 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.1 yards per reception.
The Falcons picked up his fifth-year option in May 2021, guaranteeing Ridley $11.1 million for the 2022 season.
Ridley became the Falcons’ top receiver after Julio Jones was traded on June 6, 2021, and in all likelihood, Ridley would have got a long-term extension.
Ridley missed training camp and did not play in any preseason games, after stating that his foot was healthy after surgery.
He played the first four games of the season before missing the trip to London, and returned to the team after the Falcons’ bye week on Oct. 18, 2021.
That week, Ridley stated that he felt his issue was short term and that he was past it.
In the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s loss to the Carolina Panthers at home on Oct. 31, Ridley announced that he would be taking an indefinite break to work on his mental health.
The Falcons placed Ridley on the non-football injury list on Nov. 5, and did not provide details regarding Ridley’s issues, only stating that the team was supporting him.
Inactive from the team, Ridley may have placed bets on the Falcons to win, and the franchise was notified in early February by the NFL that Ridley was being investigated for potentially gambling on games.
