Falcons’ Ridley banned for season and forfeits $11m salary after betting on NFL games

• Wide receiver gambled on NFL games during spell on sidelines
• League says no other members of team involved

The NFL has banned Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for the entire 2022 season - and possibly longer - for betting on games. The suspension means he will forfeit his $11.1m salary for 2022.

There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL's success - and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league - than upholding the integrity of the game," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to Ridley, informing him of the suspension. This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.