Insider knowledge

Tom Brady’s canceled retirement plans have resulted in one sportsbook calling on the NFL to investigate some sizable wagers. The bets supposedly suggest that gamblers had insider knowledge of the quarterback’s intention to return to the game.

no doubt” someone leaked information regarding Brady’s return

On Monday, Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay confirmed he had “no doubt” someone leaked information regarding Brady’s return in the week leading up to the QB’s Sunday announcement.

The controversial wagers include 60-1 and 30-1 bets placed by one Westgate customer Thursday on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win Super Bowl LVII and the NFC South title. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the bettor wagered one more time after Westgate lowered the odds “25-1 to win it all.”

“It wasn’t a guy with a Tom Brady jersey at the counter. It was a player that we would describe as sharp,” Kornegay told LVRJ. “With that type of play […] there was information that was shared prior to his official announcement.”

Different sportsbooks, same shady action

Kornegay has called on the NFL to investigate the shady bets, confirming that his wasn’t the only sportsbook to note some strange betting behavior.

According to NBCSports.com, director of Las Vegas’ South Point sportsbook Chris Andrews said his firm faces a “multi-six-figure liability” if the Bucs win the 2023 Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, Circa Sports manager Chris Bennet told ESPN that his sportsbook took a 30-1 bet on Thursday for the Bucs to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy, adding: “I would say confidently that this person knew that [Brady] was coming back.”

Similarly, PointsBet head of trading Jay Croucher told ESPN his firm had the Bucs at 19-1 to win the Super Bowl before Brady’s news, and moved them to 7-1 after he announced his return. Fortunately for his sportsbook, Croucher said the news spread so fast that “we were adjusting the prices seconds after it broke.”

Brady’s supersized influence

The QB who memorably described himself as “baddest motherf***er on the planet” ahead of helping the Bucs beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, has a massive influence on NFL betting trends.

we’re certainly not comfortable with it”

Kornegay contrasted the 44-year-old QB with his New Orleans Saints counterpart Jameis Winston, confirming his sportsbook wouldn’t worry about a six-figure liability with the latter. “But when it’s Tom Brady […] we’re certainly not comfortable with it,” he stated.

“You’re talking about the best quarterback of all time playing or not playing,” he added.

For savvy bettors without insider knowledge, it would have made sense to bet on the QB’s return on Saturday after watching Brady’s reaction to a question from Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, shared by ESPN FC via Twitter:

Whether the NFL will investigate the suspicious bets is uncertain. According to the LVRJ, however, the league’s vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said the NFL had no comment on the SuperBook exec’s concerns.