On Thursday, information broke that quarterback Jayden Daniels and extensive receiver Malik Nabers — who had been LSU teammates earlier than being taken with the second and sixth picks of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit — have made a $10,000 wager on which one them will likely be named the league’s offensive rookie of the yr.
In line with ESPN, there’s a query about whether or not the wager will likely be permitted. It would violate the league’s coverage prohibiting gamers from making NFL wagers.
[T]right here’s a very good probability the wager doesn’t occur. One supply mentioned the training for rookies on the playing coverage will happen throughout their rookie minicamp, which begins Thursday with orientation periods. The wager may find yourself being cancelled afterward.
ESPN has contacted the NFL league workplace to find out if this might violate its coverage on playing however didn’t instantly hear again. The league’s coverage states that NFL personnel are prohibited from “inserting, soliciting or facilitating any wager, whether or not straight or by a 3rd celebration,” on any NFL recreation, observe or different league occasion, such because the draft or mix.” It consists of betting on the end result of a recreation, statistics, the rating or particular person efficiency and different prop bets.
The 2022 playing coverage said that playing consists of “personal wagers between teammates, household and mates, or others” however that was not included within the revised 2023 coverage.
On Friday afternoon, the Nabers introduced the wager had been known as off. However one other query stays in regards to the unique wager: what if neither of them wins the award?
We ask this query as a result of Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes will goal rookie Xavier Worthy in 2024. The previous Texas participant will likely be one of many league’s quickest wideouts. In three of the 4 seasons by which Mahomes has had a super-speedy extensive receiver obtainable to him, that participant has accrued a minimum of 1,200 receiving yards — and if Tyreek Hill hadn’t missed 4 2019 video games with an harm, it may simply have been 4 of 4.
A 1,200-yard season may simply be sufficient for a rookie wideout to win. Previously 20 seasons, 4 rookie extensive receivers have been named offensive rookie of the yr: the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. and the Minnesota Vikings’ Percy Harvin. As rookies, they ranged between 790 and 1,455 receiving yards — and averaged 1,163.
Throughout that very same interval, 10 quarterbacks — from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger to the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud — have received the award. That’s in all probability why DraftKings Sportsbook lists quarterback Daniels at +650 to win OROY, whereas wideout Nabers is listed at +1,400. (The No. 1 total choose — the Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams — is available in at +175).
However Worthy nonetheless wouldn’t be prone to win OROY , would he? In spite of everything… over the identical 20 years, solely three OROY winners had been chosen outdoors the primary spherical. Of the remaining 17, solely Harvin, Beckham and Roethslisberger had been taken outdoors the highest 10. That’s in all probability why DraftKings lists the San Francisco 49ers’ new wideout Ricky Pearsall — the 2024 draft’s thirty first choose — at +4,000.
Nonetheless… DraftKings lists Worthy’s OROY line at +1,600. Despite the fact that he was taken three spots sooner than Pearsall and 22 spots later than Nabers, they offer him the fifth-best probability to win the respect.
Such is the ability of Mahomes.
So despite the fact that Daniels and Nabers suppose the race is usually between them, it isn’t — and one of many gamers vying to beat them will likely be sporting purple and gold.
