Eagles CB Isaiah Rodgers opens up about his NFL gambling suspension that cost him with the Colts

Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers spoke publicly for the first time about being suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season, with his December interview with ESPN airing Friday.

Rodgers, who on June 29, 2023 was one of four players suspended for betting on the NFL and among the two suspended players waived by the Indianapolis Colts, said the more than 100 bets placed on his gambling account were on behalf of friends and family in his native Florida, a state where sports betting was not legal at the time.

Rodgers committed betting infractions, including placing wagers inside the Colts facility in Indiana.

“At the end of the day I knew the rules, I wasn’t supposed to do it, and I got to take what comes with it,” the 26-year-old Rodgers told ESPN.

» READ MORE: Eagles sign CB Isaiah Rodgers, who is suspended for the 2023 season for violating the NFL gambling policy

While most of the bets were between $25 and $50 and included wagers related to Colts games, Rodgers confirmed, one of the most notable wagers was his then-teammate and Salem (N.J.) High star Jonathan Taylor’s over/under rushing yards prop.

“That report is true, with it being $1,000, but that wasn’t made from my device,” Rodgers said. “During the time it was placed, I was actually on the field warming up for a game. ... That bet wasn’t directly Isaiah Rodgers placing that bet.

“The $25 to $50 bets are exactly true, but it was more crazy-leg parlays with just $25 trying to make a crazy amount. Just funny bets. Nothing too serious. It was never, ‘This bet here is going to change my life.’”

In a revised NFL gambling policy from September, there is now a minimum of a two-year suspension if a player bets on an NFL game involving his team.

Asked why when he was making millions — he’d signed $3.44 million, four-year rookie contract with the Colts in 2020 — that he would place small wagers, Rodgers said, “I question myself, too, but I thought I probably wouldn’t get caught, I wouldn’t get in trouble. I was really just being a good-hearted person just trying to help people. It will never happen again. Never.”

Rodgers told ESPN he knew he was under investigation in late February, early March 2023 after getting the call from his agent, but ultimately kept the news of his impending suspension to himself.

On June 5, the Colts announced they were aware the NFL opened an investigation into Rodgers for a possible gambling infraction. Rodgers later posted that same day a statement acknowledging his mistakes.

» READ MORE: Four NFL players draw suspensions for gambling violations

The Eagles signed Rodgers on Aug. 28 and placed him on the reserve/suspended list, knowing his suspension would last at least through the conclusion of the 2023 season. Before the suspension, the sixth-round pick out of UMass played three years with the Colts, including a three-interception season in 2021. He can petition for reinstatement later this month after the Super Bowl.

Rodgers indicated to ESPN he never altered the outcome of a game because of a bet.

“I studied too hard and too long and worked too hard to even get to this position to go out there and say, ‘I’m going to make this guy catch the ball and score a touchdown on me just for $25, $50 bets,’” he said. “Nah, that’s not even the type of person I am.”