Patrick Mahomes warns against sports gambling amid scandals
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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to prepare for an important road test against the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs fell to 5-4 after a Week 9 loss to the Buffalo Bills and spent last week on a planned bye.
While the Chiefs took a break, sports gambling scandals continued to make headlines. The hotly debated topic came up during Mahomes’ media appearance on Wednesday.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes shared his approach to any activity even remotely related to gambling.
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Patrick Mahomes joins ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show ahead of a Big 12 Conference football game at Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK, via Imagn Images)
“I mean, they’re letting us know. I mean, the NFL and the NFLPA are telling us all the different rules that you can and can’t do. I just stay away, stay away from it because I don’t want to put myself in that situation.” Mahomes said. “I mean, it’s like, your life is so great, why bother with it?”
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“And I think that comes to me more than anything, sometimes it gets weird for fans to talk about it. You’re just trying to go out there and live your life and play the game, and sometimes they get a lot more invested than the average fan because there’s money involved.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass to running back Jerick McKinnon (1) during the first half of the AFC championship NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
“And from me to them, don’t do anything that you can’t recover from or that you can’t live without. It’s a crazy world we live in these days with all these things happening. But I think just focus on football and focus on the sport that you love and why you’re here and you don’t have to worry about the other stuff.”
Mahomes has not been accused of or associated with improper sports gambling in any way.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard and coach Damon Jones were among those arrested by the FBI last month as part of an investigation into illegal gambling and sports betting. Rozier was later placed on leave by the league.
Authorities said the investigation was linked to members of the La Cosa Nostra crime family.
Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs watches the Super Bowl LV game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on February 07, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
In July, Gilbert Arenas was arrested in connection with an illegal gambling ring. The Justice Department accused the former basketball star of running the scheme from a home he owned in Southern California. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was later released on $50,000 bail.
In late October, the NBA notified its 30 teams that it was launching a review into how the league could protect the integrity of the game.
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In baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on several charges related to an operation that alleged they rigged bets on MLB games they played.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.
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