Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams will be suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season, so how much pay will he lose for his mistake?
On Friday morning the NFL announced five players have been suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy, including four Detroit Lions (two now-former Lions) headlined by wide receiver Jameson Williams.
Williams’ agency has released a statement on behalf of their client.
Alliance Sports confirms that its client, Jameson Williams, has been suspended by the NFL for six games for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. Jameson takes full responsibility for his actions and is very apologetic to the NFL, his teammates and the fans and city of Detroit. However, it is important to note that Jameson’s violation was not for betting on football but rather due to a technical rule regarding the actual location in which the online bet was placed – and which would otherwise be allowed by the NFL outside of the club’s facility. Jameson would never intentionally jeopardize the integrity of the game he loves so much and looks forward to getting back to his team as soon as possible.”
An appeal of the suspension wouldn’t get anywhere. But the part of the statement saying what Williams did “would otherwise be allowed by the NFL outside the club’s facility” hints at taking up an issue with the rule. Especially when the league is as all-in on betting partnerships as it is.
But the rules are clear, and Williams violated the policy.
How much pay will Jameson Williams lose due to his suspension?
Williams signed a four-year, $17.46 million contract when he was drafted last year. Calculated against 18 weeks, he’ll cleanly lose at one-third of his $1,148,718 base salary for this year ($382,906).
And with the suspension, as noted by Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Williams will see the guaranteed salaries he has coming go away–including $5.37 million total over 2024 and 2025.
So a “youthful mistake” violating what seems to be a clear-cut gambling policy with no gray area will cost Willliams……rough $7.2 million. To say nothing of how he’ll now miss 17 of his first 23 NFL games, after a torn ACL in his final college game cost him 11 games as a rookie.