Can NFL players bet on Super Bowl 2024? Exploring league's gambling policies on the Big Game

Super Bowl LVIII is officially set to kick off on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 PM ET. It will feature a rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers after they faced off in the big game four years ago. The Chiefs were victorious there and will also enter this matchup as the defending champions.

Besides the actual game itself, which is always interesting because it's the final game of the year before a seven-month offseason, the location of this particular showdown is another major storyline. The Super Bowl will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time ever. It will be hosted at Allegiant Stadium, the relatively new home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

This city is best known for its gambling. Legal gambling on sports has gone down in Las Vegas for many years before other states have recently joined the trend of legalizing sports wagering. The catch is that NFL players are strictly prohibited from gambling on any NFL games in any form whatsoever.

Players who are caught gambling on NFL games are required to serve at least a one-year suspension, which increases to a two-year minimum suspension if the game involves their own team. Players are also forbidden from gambling in any variety at all when in any NFL facility or official function, including during the travel for these events. A two-game minimum suspension will be issued for violating this rule.

Calvin Ridley and Jameson Williams are among the NFL superstars who have been caught breaking these policies, resulting in suspensions. With the exception of actual NFL games, and as long as they are not in their work environment, players are usually permitted to gamble otherwise. For example, they are allowed to go to casinos and play table games or participate in other online gambling offerings.

Taking all of this into consideration, NFL players from any team, not just the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, will not be allowed to place any type of wagers on the Super Bowl.

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Can Chiefs and 49ers players gamble in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week?

Allegiant Stadium

The NFL's official policy on gambling usually allows all of its players to gamble if they choose to do so, as long as it is not related to the NFL in any form, as outlined above. The specific rules of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will be modified until the conclusion of the Super Bowl.

As players arrive early ahead of the big game, the NFL has officially decided that no player from either of the two teams will be permitted to gamble in any form. This is apparently an attempt to protect the integrity of the game, though it can be debated if that is really the case.

Nevertheless, players from the Chiefs and 49ers will need to wait until after the Super Bowl if they plan on taking part in any of the usual gambling activities associated with being in Las Vegas.