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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to prepare for a crucial 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 enjoyed some time off, sports gambling scandals continued to make headlines. The hotly debated topic was raised during Mahomes’ media availability Wednesday.
Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion, shared his approach to any activity remotely related to gambling.
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Patrick Mahomes joins ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show before a Big 12 Conference football game Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium. (Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“I mean, they let us know. I mean, the NFL and the NFLPA kind of tell us all the different rules that you can and can’t do. I just stay away, stay away from it, just because I don’t want to put myself in that position,” Mahomes said. “I mean, it’s something, your life is so great, why mess with it?”
NBA GAMBLING SCANDAL SHOWS LEGAL SPORTS BETTING MARKET WORKS, FANATICS BETTING & GAMING CEO WORKS
“And it’s going to be, I think more than anything else for me, that sometimes it gets weird when you have fans talking about it. Just because you’re just trying to go out there and live your life and play the game, and sometimes they really bond even more than the average fan because they have money at stake.”
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, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
“And so, from me to them, I just want to say don’t do something that you can’t recover or live without. And so, it’s a crazy world we live in these days where we see all this stuff happening. But I think you just focus on the football and focus on the sport that you love and why you’re here and you don’t have to worry about other things.”
Mahomes has not been accused of or in any way linked to improper sports betting.
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 as part of an illegal gambling and sports betting investigation last month. Rozier was subsequently placed on leave by the league.
Authorities said the investigation had ties to members of the La Cosa Nostra crime family.
Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs watches before Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on February 7, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
In July, Gilbert Arenas was arrested in connection with an illegal game. 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 a memo in late October, the NBA told its 30 teams that it had launched a review of how the league could protect the integrity of the game.
In baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on multiple charges related to an operation that alleged they rigged bets on MLB games they played in.
