Even at a time when gambling has become omnipresent in the sports world, it still raises some eyebrows anytime an athlete announces an endorsement deal with a betting-based company.
That’s especially the case when that player was previously suspended for gambling, as was the case on Monday when Fantasy Life announced its new partnership with Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere.
Originally selected by the Titans out of Ohio State in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Petit-Frere served a six-game suspension to start the 2023 season after violating the league’s gambling policy. According to reports, the former first-team All-Big Ten selection was suspended for placing wagers on non-NFL games in the workplace.
Now, he’s a Fantasy Football expert at Fantasy Life, which describes itself on X as “fantasy football & betting content straight to your inbox, for free, every day.” The company was founded by former ESPN fantasy guru Matthew Berry and recently partnered with NBC’s RotoWorld.
Fantasy Life is beyond thrilled to welcome Nicholas Petit-Frere as a Fantasy Expert!
Nicholas graduated from The Ohio State University in 3 1/2 years, is from Tampa, Florida, oh, and plays offensive tackle for the @Titans.
Please join us in welcoming @NicholasPetit! pic.twitter.com/GTcFckM12Y
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) September 17, 2024
While it’s important to note that Petit-Frere’s role at Fantasy Life doesn’t appear to be focused on gambling, the announcement of his new role at the company has already been met with backlash. The fact that the Titans right tackle’s new gig was announced just days after his poor performance in Tennessee’s loss to the New York Jets certainly didn’t help matters.
Current* #Titans player who was previously suspended for *gambling* has partnership announced with *gambling* company 2 days after he allowed 9-13 pressures (PFF/NGS).
Cool cool cool cool cool https://t.co/1qqnFz6iJJ
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) September 17, 2024
Oh this SUCH a bad week for this lmaooooo https://t.co/0xMQgYdnrf
— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) September 17, 2024
I’m not going to overreact to this. I’m going to be rational and logical and fair.
My reaction:
A guy struggling on the field and who has been busted in the past for gambling should not be doing this right now. It’s just a bad look and a bad idea. https://t.co/FGnXOigE6C— Jamal (@Jamalisms) September 17, 2024
wait, what?
they hired a member of the Tennessee Titans to give fantasy football advice?
an NFL player who got busted for violating the league’s gambling policy 2 years ago?
This is ridiculous 😂 https://t.co/VRTxowmWCB
— Gage (@GageEHC) September 17, 2024
To be clear, there has been nothing to indicate that Petit-Frere’s poor performance has anything to do with his new role as a fantasy football expert. But the fact that such concerns are already being raised also illustrates the potential problems with an active player partnering with such a company.
Assuming Petit-Frere is being paid by Fantasy Life for his analysis, the reality is that he’s now receiving money from a company whose bottom line is at least partially dependent on its ability to accurately forecast games. As such, every poor performance from Petit-Frere will undoubtedly now be met with allegations that he’s aiding such efforts — even if those accusations are totally unfounded.
Factor in his previous suspension for gambling and it would be tough to argue that this isn’t a perception issue for the league. All things considered, when it comes to Petit-Frere’s time as an analyst at Fantasy Life, we’ll take the under.
