Point Shaving in the NFL

The statute is short, and each part of it has a defined meaning. Section 224(a) lists the conduct: carrying a scheme into effect, attempting to, or conspiring with another person to do so. The scheme must be one "to influence, in any way, by bribery any sporting contest," and the person must know that this is its purpose. The penalty is a fine under Title 18, imprisonment of not more than five years, or both.

Section 224(c) defines three terms. A scheme in commerce is any scheme effectuated in whole or in part through the use, in interstate or foreign commerce, of any facility for transportation or communication, so the definition turns on the facilities used and not on where the contest is played. A sporting contest is any contest in any sport, between individual contestants or teams of contestants, without regard to the amateur or professional status of the contestants, the occurrence of which is publicly announced before it takes place. A person is any individual and any partnership, corporation, association or other entity.

Section 224(b) says that Congress did not intend to take over the field. No law of a state or territory that would be valid without the section is invalidated by it, and local authorities keep their jurisdiction over offenses they could already prosecute. The federal statute therefore sits alongside state laws and does not displace them.

The text speaks of influencing a contest "by bribery," not of a particular result. That wording covers any scheme in which someone is paid to affect a contest, whether the aim is to change the winner or to change something else about the game. The statute does not define point shaving, and it does not mention betting. What it makes unlawful is the bribery.

The statute applies to a contest whose occurrence is publicly announced before it takes place, which includes every scheduled NFL game, as well as college and amateur contests.

The league's rules for players are set out in its gambling policy, and the Associated Press reported on October 24, 2025 that the league had asked all 32 teams to reiterate key aspects of the policy and make the document available to players. The article quotes the policy as prohibiting players from placing any bet on NFL football, from throwing or fixing any NFL game or event, and from sharing confidential, non-public information about any NFL game, player or event with any third party. It adds that NFL players must take appropriate steps to safeguard the game against gambling-related risks.

The policy as reported draws a line for other sports. Players may legally place bets on other sports as long as they are off club property. A memo from the players' association, quoted in the same report, said that players should not bet on the NFL, gamble at the team facility or while traveling for a road game, and may not enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season except to access another part of the casino.

The text of the policy itself was not published with that report, so this page relies on the quoted passages and does not describe penalties or procedures that the report did not mention.

The page explains two rules. It does not describe any case, any person or any investigation, because nothing here is drawn from a court record, and it does not say how often point shaving occurs in the NFL. It is also not legal advice: the statute is quoted so that a reader can see what it says, and whether a particular act is covered is a question for a court.

The statute is quoted from the text of 18 U.S.C. 224, as published by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School, including the 1964 enactment and the 1994 amendment of the penalty wording. The league policy passages come from the Associated Press report of October 24, 2025, carried by local stations such as WDIV in Detroit. The league's own policy document was not available to read in full when this page was written. New developments are not tracked automatically, so the page is checked again when the league or Congress changes the rules. More football pages are collected on the NFL hub.