Falcons: Calvin Ridley was gambling much more than originally expected

One of the Falcons’ most pressing needs is at the wideout position after news broke on Monday that the NFL handed down a suspension to Calvin Ridley for at least the 2022 season for gambling on NFL games during his time away from the team. Now, details regarding the suspension and the bets are surfacing too.

Ridley’s wagers were placed on the Falcons to win and came between November 23-28, which means they occurred during Atlanta’s Week 12 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was reported that Ridley didn’t have any inside information, nor did any member of the Falcons organization have knowledge of the bets.

However, new information was made available on Friday. Brett Smiley of SportsHandle reported that Ridley actually bet $3,900 on six different bets that included Falcons games. Five were parlays, and one was a $300 wager on a mega 11-leg parlay. At odds of 481/1, the wager would have paid more than $144,000 if it hit.

All of us have made some ridiculous 8-, 9-, or 10-leg parlay that would’ve paid out a ton. It just goes to show everyone loves a good parlay.

Another bet was a $1,300 live bet on the Falcons’ team total against the Jags in Week 12. Smiley pointed out that all the wagers Ridley made on the Falcons were losses (shocker). In total, Ridley wagered $3,900 across six separate bets on or including Falcons games.

The only bets Ridley did win were games that didn’t involve the Falcons, netting the former All-Pro receiver $654 in winnings — pennies to a professional athlete.

However, football wasn’t the only thing Ridley was gambling on. Smiley points out that Ridley’s declaration that “it was only $1,500” was a fabrication.

According to investigative records, Ridley also placed 33 additional wagers on other sports and leagues for a total of $32,733, with a profit of $2,744.

It is a pretty difficult situation for everyone involved, but I do have a few thoughts. First, the NFL is hypocritical to suspend Ridley over this while making hundreds of millions in profit. After all, Ray Rice was suspended a handful of games for one of the worst domestic violence cases the NFL has ever seen.

Secondly, Ridley has no excuse as to why he did this. Since he became a professional football player, the league and the Falcons have hammered home the point of NOT gambling on ANYTHING. Furthermore, when he was at Alabama, I guarantee there were programs/speakers who reiterated what they could and couldn’t do in these situations. Ridley either knew he was permitted and didn’t care or really didn’t know — I don’t know which is worse.

Lastly, EVERYONE LOVES PARLAYS!