Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels receive 'punishment' for abandoned Rookie of the Year bet

Malik Nabers and Jayden Daniels were quite the dynamic duo in college last season. Nabers was one of the best wide receivers in the country and Daniels was the Heisman winner. Neither one of them would have been drafted as high as they were if it wasn't for the other.

As a result, they built an incredibly close bond. After the NFL draft, Nabers made the mistake of admitting that he and Daniels had a $10,000 bet on which one of the two would win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year during their first year in the NFL.

Obviously, this is against just about every gambling rule in the NFL rulebook. As a result, whether it was by choice or through recommendations from their circles, the two rescinded the bet as if nothing ever happened.

Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels face punishment for violating league policy

During Thursday’s preseason conference call regarding the gambling policy, Mark Maske of the Washington Post asked about the manner in which the Nabers-Daniels situation was handled.

“The league addressed the matter directly with the NFL Players Association, with the two teams, and the two players, to ensure that they understood the policy,” NFL executive V.P. Jeff Miller said. “They received multiple education training sessions since that time, and I think we’re in a — as a result of all the work that went into it we’re comfortable with the resolution.”

This punishment seems more like damage control than something that would really change the way that a young NFL rookie would think or act. There was likely nothing achieved by sending them to these training sessions besides making it apparent that they were acting on the matter.

Honestly, players should have a little bit of leeway when it comes to gambling on themselves. I understand that it's a very slippery slope which could lead to players fixing games and skewing statistics and everything else.

But, what's the issue if Nabers or Daniels want to bet their former teammate that they think they'll have the better season? What would be the issue if a player wanted to place a bet that his team was going to win the Super Bowl?

As long as the bets are in the manner that the player must play good and not bad, there's definitely a way for sports to legalize this. It's a slippery slope that the NFL is obviously avoiding right now, but who knows? Maybe a bet like this could be something legal in the future.

Let's be honest too. Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. are the two most likely options to win the award anyway. Daniels is fighting for the QB1 spot with the Washington Commanders, where he wouldn't have a great supporting cast anyway. Nabers is a member of the New York Giants, and he has Daniel Jones throwing him passes, which would limit his potential for yards and touchdowns anyway.