Santonio Holmes is among 25 NFL players the league is investigating for an investment in a casino in Alabama.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the investigation Friday, a day after Yahoo! Sports reported that wide receivers Terrell Owens, Santonio Holmes, Santana Moss and other players had invested some $20 million in Country Crossing casino. The report also named defensive tackle Gerard Warren and linebacker Adalius Thomas, a free agent who played for the New England Patriots until his release before last season.
NFL rules bar employees from involvement with any gaming operation. Players violating that rule could be subject to fines or suspensions and have to give up their investment.
Holmes is in theory one strike away from a year long suspension in the league's conduct policy. Even so, it is tough to imagine the NFL is going to bring down the hammer on him for something like this. They tend to use that rule for legal problems, not investments they should probably avoid. Forcing these guys to get rid of this investment and perhaps fines seems more likely. In any event, nobody can say for sure because a new CBA could have changes to the conduct policy. This is something to keep an eye on with the pending free agent.