Adam Schefter embarrassed ESPN Bet on their own network by calling the sportsbook out over the interesting Los Angeles Chargers odds which have popped up ahead of the draft.
Betting has made things more complicated for teams and athletes, given the many legal ties with sports leagues in recent times. Broadcasters and their insiders are finding life a bit more difficult, too.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports has its own sportsbook nowadays, and it isn’t hard to see why conflicts of interest might arise from time to time as it gives them an avenue for swaying markets their way, with bettors at risk of paying the price.
Schefter, one of the biggest NFL news breakers on mainstream media, pointed to this on ESPN’s ‘Get Up!’ on Wednesday morning as he referred to ESPN BET’s odds on the Chargers drafting J.J. McCarthy as “a gimmick.”
The insider suggested that there’s no way the Chargers would even consider trading Justin Herbert, despite the many good things Jim Harbaugh had to say about his former Michigan star, as it would mean swallowing a record amount of dead money.
“I looked into this a month ago and asked, ‘Could this be? Would anybody in Los Angeles consider taking JJ McCarthy with Jim Harbaugh saying he’s the best quarterback in this draft, the best quarterback in Michigan history, the best pro day he’s ever seen any player have.’ You couldn’t be any more effusive in a player in the way that Jim Harbaugh has spoke about JJ McCarthy,” Adam Schefter said in response to a question from host Mike Greenberg.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“And the way it was told to me a month ago is that no new money in Justin Herbert’s contract has kicked in, to trade him would cost well over $100 million, which would be the largest cap charge in history. You’d be absorbing the largest cap charge in NFL history to trade one of the elite young quarterback talents. It doesn’t make sense for as much as you would get back. And I don’t understand how those odds have gone up like that. Is this some sort of gimmick?”
Such Incidents Are Beginning To Pick Up Steam At ESPN
Recently, ESPN has come under fire for a betting-related issue, with ‘College GameDay’ host Rece Davis referring to one of the network’s promoted bets as a “risk-free investment.”
“You know what? Some would call this wagering, gambling; the way you’ve sold this, I think what it is, is a risk-free investment,” he said after an ESPN BET segment with Erin Dolan.
We imagine there will be many more situations that aren’t dissimilar coming up in the future.
