Former Arizona Cardinals scouting director Ryan Gold is challenging his indefinite NFL suspension as questions remain over whether betting integrity monitors identified unusual activity surrounding the team’s selection of Jeremiyah Love in the 2026 draft.
Gold’s appeal, scheduled for September 23, follows the NFL’s July 17 decision to suspend him for allegedly disclosing confidential information about Arizona’s draft selections and participating in prohibited football betting.
The former Cardinals executive denies the allegations. Meanwhile, regulators in Massachusetts and Arizona are examining aspects of the case, although neither has publicly established a connection between Gold and betting on Love’s selection.
The case has also raised questions about the information available to the NFL’s integrity monitoring partners during the weeks preceding the draft.
Love’s Draft Odds Shifted Before Cardinals Selection
In March 2026, BetMGM initially offered odds of 30-1 on former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love becoming the third overall selection in the NFL draft, according to ESPN.
By two days before the draft, those odds had shortened to approximately 2-1.
DraftKings subsequently reported that Love had attracted more wagers and a greater total betting amount to be selected third than any other player in that market.
The Cardinals ultimately selected Love with the third overall pick.
However, the NFL has not publicly linked the movement in Love’s betting odds to Gold’s alleged disclosure of confidential information. The league has also not identified the specific draft information allegedly shared, its recipients or whether it influenced any wagers.
Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort indicated on draft night that the team had settled on Love at the beginning of that week, although the betting market had begun moving in March.
The timing of the odds movement does not, by itself, establish that confidential information was leaked or used for betting.
Massachusetts Confirms No Draft Betting Alerts
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission confirmed that it received no suspicious wagering reports concerning NFL draft markets during March or April 2026.
Commission communications chief Thomas Mills told Gambling Insider that neither licensed sportsbooks nor integrity monitoring providers submitted reports relating to the draft during those months.
Massachusetts is reviewing betting patterns connected to the matter, rather than conducting an investigation specifically targeting Gold. Mills declined to disclose further details while the review remains open.
The commission also does not maintain seasonal totals for suspicious wagering reports or integrity alerts, making it difficult to assess whether the absence of draft-related notifications was unusual.
NFL draft betting is permitted in Massachusetts, subject to specific restrictions on when markets must close.
Wagers covering the entire draft must close before the first selection, while round-specific betting must end before the relevant round begins. Betting on an individual selection must close before the pick two places earlier is announced.
Those restrictions were in effect during March and April, but they do not establish a specific response to substantial changes in betting odds weeks before the draft.
In Arizona, the Department of Gaming has confirmed that the matter is undergoing preliminary review. The regulator will subsequently determine whether a formal investigation involving a licensee is warranted.
Department representative Jessica Roza declined to reveal whether Arizona received reports concerning Love’s betting market, who notified the regulator or whether it had communicated with the NFL or Massachusetts.
Arizona requires licensed operators and integrity monitoring providers to report suspicious betting activity.
NFL Monitoring Procedures Remain Under Scrutiny
The NFL’s published integrity framework identifies Genius Sports and IC360 as independent monitoring partners responsible for examining betting markets during games and major league events, including the draft.
Their monitoring covers odds movements and wagering patterns that could indicate manipulation or the disclosure of confidential information, with alerts generated in real time.
However, the league has not disclosed whether either provider identified unusual activity in the market for Love’s draft position or whether any related alerts were distributed to operators or regulators.
The NFL, IC360, BetMGM and DraftKings did not respond to Gambling Insider’s questions concerning monitoring of the draft market. Genius Sports had not provided a response by the article’s publication.
The absence of reports in Massachusetts does not establish that monitoring providers failed to identify or report suspicious activity elsewhere. No publicly disclosed evidence demonstrates that any operator or monitoring company breached its reporting obligations.
Before the draft, the NFL had also asked prediction market operators to discontinue contracts involving outcomes that could be known to individuals before their public announcement, specifically identifying draft selections as an example of that risk.
Gold Challenges NFL Findings Ahead of Appeal
Gold’s attorney, Mike Caspino, filed an appeal with the NFL in July, disputing both the alleged information disclosure and the gambling violations.
Caspino maintains that Gold did not know which players Arizona intended to select before the draft. According to the attorney, only team owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort possessed that information.
He also disputes the allegation that Gold participated in prohibited football betting, explaining that the wagers in question were weekly $10 parlays placed by Gold’s wife with a group of former high school friends.
The NFL’s original findings stated that Gold had shared confidential information concerning Arizona’s draft selections and participated in parlay betting on NFL and college football games.
The league reported finding no evidence that the integrity of any NFL game had been compromised. It also said the Cardinals cooperated with its investigation and that no other members of the organization appeared to have been involved.
Arizona supported the league’s disciplinary decision when the suspension was announced.
Gold was in his 13th season with the Cardinals when the NFL imposed the indefinite suspension.
The appeal was filed through the league rather than a court. Neither the NFL nor Gold’s legal representatives have publicly identified who will hear the case or whether the final decision will be released.
The league’s publicly available 2022 gambling policy covers club employees but does not specify an appeal procedure.
As of the September 22 report, no criminal charges or civil proceedings had been brought against Gold, and no bettor had been publicly identified or sanctioned in connection with the allegations.
The appeal will address the NFL’s disciplinary findings, but it may not establish whether the movement in Love’s draft odds generated an integrity alert.
Massachusetts has confirmed receiving no draft-related reports during the relevant period, while Arizona has withheld details of its regulatory review. The NFL and its monitoring partners have not disclosed whether the Love market triggered any alerts or where such information may have been reported.