First, if you google "nfl scandals", you'll pull up any number of controversies that show that the NFL, as pointed out by Reps. Cathcart and Wagner, is simply being arrogant in their reasoning why they oppose this bill. The NFL's official position is that they are opposed to gambling because it sends the wrong image of its athletes. Just like excessive celebration will cost your team a 15-yard penalty and smoking dope may get you suspended, the image to the sport isn't tarnished by the third-parties who make the games a little more interesting. The only practical reason they are against this proposal is financial. While I agree that the NFL PR department is doing everything right, it also reminds me a bit about the December 2007 quote from Hillary Clinton that she would have the nomination clinched after Super Tuesday.
Do you know how many millions of dollars are made in advertising revenue generated through watching games and playing fantasy football? Granted, the NFL gets a cut of that, or at least attempts to, and that is the only realistic reason why the NFL is opposed to sports gambling become legalized in Delaware. They just want a little piece of the pie.
Here's a solution the NFL could give to Delaware instead of their holier-than-thou attitude against gambling. Why not give Delaware a percentage of the NFL pot? Or request that some of the teams (or the league itself) reincorporate in Delaware? Play a couple of pre-season games at University of Delaware. There are financial incentives the NFL could present to the State in exchange for this bill to go away. I don't see anything but threats of the degradation of society, which doesn't pay the bills, nor alleviate them.
Will Delaware become the West Coast vegas as a result of this bill becoming law? Of course not. We already have Atlantic City and Delaware is never going to compete with that. Nor is this bill about table gambling (although that would logically be the next step in ten years from now when the budget is again facing astronomical crises). This is simply a bill to generate money that people are already ready and willing to gamble. The NFL can counter this simply by running ads on its network that deter it. And make a couple of examples out of athletes who blow their weekly salary on a couple rolls of the roulette wheel in Vegas or stomp on opponent's helmets.
Wait until the NFL figures out how to get a chunk out of fantasy football and then watch some sparks fly.
Regardless of how this immediate debates turns out, it's a lot of conjecture and speculation. Plus, this bill has only gotten through the House, and whether or not it actually gets through remains to be seen. And the current Governor is, in all likelihood, going to let this one ride on the shoulders of the new guy. What will happen next? Delawareans will certainly be following this one closely. I'm going to bet on it getting held up in the Senate for a little while longer.
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