Tom Brady's decision to return to the NFL less than two months after retiring could cost sportsbooks millions of dollars.
After announcing his retirement in early February, the former New England Patriots quarterback did an about-face Sunday, declaring his intention to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022.
But here's where things get interesting: Several sportsbooks claim they received large bets on the Bucs to win the 2023 Super Bowl last week, when Brady was technically still retired and Tampa Bay was a championship long shot (60-1 at Westgate SuperBook as of last Thursday).
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In fact, Westgate vice president Jay Kornegay claims one bettor put money on the Bucs to win at 60-1 and again at 30-1 after the SuperBook lowered its odds late last week. Kornegay believes this bettor and others had some inside information that Brady was about to unretire.
"There’s not a doubt in my mind that they knew (Brady) was coming back when they placed those wagers on Thursday," Kornegay told Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "And these were not casual bettors. They would be categorized as educated bettors.
"... With that type of play and the announcement we heard (Sunday) that he was unretiring, there was information that was shared prior to his official announcement."
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Kornegay said he believes word of Brady's return got leaked sometime before Thursday and called for the NFL to investigate the situation.
"I don’t think I’ve ever said the NFL really needs to investigate something," Kornegay said. "But this is something they need to look into and how it got out, because there are many books that took some sizable wagers in the middle of last week."
The South Point sportsbook in Las Vegas was one of those books, as director Chris Andrews admitted South Point will be on the hook for a "multi-six-figure liability" if Brady's Bucs win the Super Bowl.
Circa Sports also took a "significant" bet on the Bucs to win the Super Bowl at 30-1 last Thursday, and the sportsbook's manager told ESPN he's "confident" the bettor knew Brady was about to return.
It's unclear whether the NFL will actually investigate for foul play, but the whole situation is further proof of Brady's outsized influence on the sport. The 44-year-old finished second in NFL MVP voting last season and is still one of the best quarterbacks in the game, so he immediately makes Tampa Bay a Super Bowl contender again now that he's back in the fold.
And if Brady is able to win his eighth Super Bowl title this season, a whole lot of sportsbooks will be out a whole lot of money.