Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers, two former LSU teammates, have a friendly bet for this fall’s league rookie season.
It appears that the two players have placed a $10,000 wager on each other to determine who will be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year winner this year. The Washington Commanders selected former Tigers quarterback Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner, second overall in last month’s NFL Draft. Daniels’ best wide receiver at LSU, Nabers, was selected by the New York Giants with the sixth overall pick.
Daniels remarked, “Man, he wasn’t supposed to tell nobody,” according to ESPN, on the “All Facts No Breaks” podcast. “There’s a little issue right now.”
Both of them will surely be strong contenders for the prize this year. Daniels’ Heisman-winning season with the Tigers last season saw him throw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns. In Brian Kelly’s second season with the team, he led the Tigers to a 10-3 record while completing a career-high 72.2% of his passes.
During Daniels’ final season with the Tigers, Nabers amassed 1,569 receiving yards, or about 41% of his passing yards. In addition, he caught 14 touchdowns and averaged 17.6 yards per catch.
“Dude, that boy is a dog.” Daniels stated on the podcast, “He’s a true receiver.” “He thinks of himself as open all the time, but he’s actually competitive. He’ll let him know if he doesn’t think a defensive back can cover him. He will notify you if he makes a play or catches a ball.
“He’s comparable to Ja’Marr [Chase] in terms of their explosiveness.”
But they won’t be the only contenders for the honor. Caleb Williams, the new quarterback for the Chicago Bears and the No. 1 overall pick, is the overwhelming favorite on BetMGM to win the prize this season. Daniels was ranked second, but J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings and Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals had a better chance of winning the trophy than Nabers.
Despite the fact that the wager between the two players seems to be harmless and was made in good faith, it might not be permitted by the NFL’s gambling policy.
The NFL prohibits “placing, soliciting or facilitating any bet, whether directly or through a third party,” on any NFL game or league activity. This prohibition applies to all NFL personnel as well as players. That covers more than just player props. “Private wagers between teammates, family and friends, or others” were prohibited as well under the 2022 policy. However, that was left out of the 2023 policy.
This week’s rookie minicamp will include a formal education on the gambling policy for rookies.
This bet probably won’t hold up in light of all the problems the NFL and the sports industry in general have had in recent years with gambling. In any case, Daniels and Nabers will undoubtedly face off in the fall in the competition for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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