As the Seattle Seahawks celebrate their 29-13 Super Bowl LX win over the New England Patriots, Roger Goodell’s NFL may be dealing with a scandal. It all started weeks ago when the Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was put on the injury list. Fast forward to this Sunday, and he was good to go, only to reveal that he had taken painkillers. However, in the bigger picture of things, the discussion revolves around the under-the-table act: sports betting. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed how.

“The league makes millions from sportsbook sponsorship,” Florio wrote. “Owners are allowed to acquire up to five percent of any company that operates a sportsbook — and the league has refused in the past to disclose which owners own pieces of which sportsbooks. The scandal is coming. And, when it happens, they’ll act surprised. Shocked. Appalled. Even if they should have seen it coming.”

In February last year, the league told Florio: “An owner would be able to hold up to 5 percent in entities that generate revenue from sports betting operations, provided the individual has no involvement in management of the company (such as an officer or director or in a management role).”

What came out as an interesting conclusion was that while the league has put many restrictions and limitations on the owners, there was never enough information given to the public. And here’s how it relates to what happened in Super Bowl XL:

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• Origin of the injury: With under four minutes remaining in the third quarter of his AFC Championship win over the Denver Broncos, Maye landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. The injury was significant enough that he was immediately put on the Patriots’ injury list for the Super Bowl.
• Injury report rule: By rule, no one learned anything about his status during the first of two weeks’ break before the Super Bowl because the teams only need to give an injury report on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays leading up to the game.
• Predictions on Maye’s injury: Meanwhile, many doctors predicted that the injury would not allow Maye to perform well, if at all.
• Injury report provided: The week leading into the Super Bowl, the Patriots released an injury report that listed Maye, but with full participation. It also did not specify his gameday status, leaving the information ambiguous.

Now, the reason why it is a big thing that could put the National Football League in trouble is that very last fact: The teams need to provide an injury report, but they don’t need to give a proper examination or full details about the players’ health or their availability. And that’s where the bettors come in.

Most of the rookie bettors, who don’t have inside information about the actual condition of a player, would bet for or against them accordingly. On the other hand, a professional bettor who has inside information, like Maye getting a painkiller injection to numb his pain, would not bet for him, or would bet against him.

This, in itself, opens up a plethora of questions regarding the league’s operations.

As stated above, the league allows the owners to have some equity in the betting world, but only if they don’t directly get involved in it. However, with complete information, they have an unfair advantage over many. This, in turn, points the finger directly at the NFL, which should also ask for the teams to be transparent about a player’s health condition. And this would not be the first time.

Take the case of Patriots’ legend Tom Brady. He has openly revealed that he has played in games while being hurt. While the information about him taking painkillers isn’t out, neither were the details of his condition when he was active. The result of the Patriots’ hiding Maye’s health specifications was visible in Super Bowl LX.

Maye’s Super Bowl performance clearly showed what his injury report didn’t

This year’s Big Game saw Seattle’s Darkside defense run riot against the Patriots as QB1 Drake Maye had one of his most disappointing performances of his young career. The 23-year-old finished the game 27-of-43 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble for three total giveaways and was even sacked six times. But his pain was visible outside of the stat chart.

Maye’s passes lacked their usual edge on Sunday.

Case in point: The Patriots didn’t score anything until only 12:33 were remaining in the game. Their second touchdown came with just 2:28 remaining. Even then, Maye almost made a run on a 2nd-&-7 himself, but then plopped the ball to running back Rhamondre Stevenson midway for a touchdown. That wasn’t perfect either.

In fact, Maye held his head as he made the short left throw to Stevenson, thinking he threw the ball too close to the ground, and the RB touched it for an incomplete pass. The play was ultimately ruled a complete pass and a touchdown.

But this dismal effort has been considered the product of a poor New England O-line and Maye’s inability to perform on the biggest occasion.

Maye’s situation has drawn attention because of the Super Bowl stage; this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Players and teams regularly manage injuries that aren’t available on the final injury reports, as the league only requires them to disclose availability rather than fitness.

The NFL insists its reporting rules were followed in this case, but questions are raised about how this method is no longer fit for purpose in an era where betting markets rely heavily on accurate injury information. As the league continues its ties with sports gambling, cases like this risk raising serious questions about transparency and integrity.

Amid the growing concerns over the NFL’s relationship with the gambling industry, questions are raised over the Patriots and how they handled Drake Maye’s injury. Addressing this aspect, former Los Angeles Chargers doctor Dr. David Chao issued a clarification on how teams report injuries.

Were the Patriots right in hiding Drake Maye’s injury?

As Drake Maye was deemed fit and ready to play, the New England Patriots are facing scrutiny for not reporting their quarterback’s shoulder issue ahead of the Super Bowl. When asked whether the Patriots did the right thing, former Chargers team physician Dr. David Chao revealed that the fault lies with NFL rules on injury reporting and not the team involved.

“The Patriots did everything appropriately in their reporting of Drake Maye,” Chao said. “A team is required to give an honest estimation of the chances of play. And there’s only four choices: Out, Doubtful, Questionable, nothing, meaning ‘Playing.’ There’s no ‘probable’ anymore.

“They had him on there as nothing, meaning he’s 100 percent playing. He played. There’s no shenanigans there.”

Indeed, Maye did not compromise a minute of his field time on Sunday. However, how he utilized remains the talking point here.

The debate makes one thing clear: Roger Goodell and the NFL can no longer afford half-measures.

With the league’s credibility on the line, action must be taken to establish real transparency around player health and other related issues, as it’s essential to preserving fan trust and protecting the sport’s integrity in this age.