Report: Cardinals executive to appeal suspension for violating NFL’s gambling policy

Arizona Cardinals director of college scouting Ryan Gold will appeal his indefinite suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday.

News of Gold’s suspension broke Friday after the league said that its investigation determined that Gold provided confidential, non-public inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced, and Gold also participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games. The league didn’t say who Gold had provided with the information.

Mike Caspino, Gold’s attorney, told ESPN on Sunday that Gold plans to appeal his suspension, saying the league’s case is not strong.

“Ryan Gold has been an outstanding NFL executive for over a decade,” Caspino said. “The accusations made by the league regarding his participation in prohibited gambling activities are blatantly false. We have demanded an appeal, and we look forward to clearing his good name.”

Caspino said the gambling activity was Gold’s wife making $10 weekly bets with a group of high school friends on parlays and that Gold was not involved in the activity. Caspino added Gold could not have provided the information on draft picks because he did not know who the Cardinals were selecting. Caspino said only Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill and General Manager Monti Ossenfort had that knowledge.

Gold, who is in his 13th season with the Cardinals, was promoted to director of college scouting in June 2025. He spent the previous three years (2022-24) as the assistant director of college scouting after working for four seasons (2018-21) as a college scouting coordinator.

The NFL has strict gambling policies for players and club and league personnel. The league has also dedicated significant resources to its gambling education program, reaching more than 20,000 people associated with the league.

“The Gambling Policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, strictly prohibits anyone in the NFL from participating in or facilitating any form of sports gambling, and from providing third parties non-public information,” the NFL said in a statement. “Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected, the League takes any violation of the Gambling Policy with the utmost seriousness.”

The NFL said Friday the Cardinals fully cooperated with the investigation and the league has seen no indication that any other member of the organization, coach or player, was aware of or involved in this activity. The league also said there was no indication that any play or game was affected by this activity.

The Cardinals also issued a statement to Arizona Sports on Friday, saying: “The NFL’s policies and expectations for all employees are clear, comprehensive and consistently communicated. We fully support the league’s decision in this matter, which involves a single employee. Our focus remains on preparing for the start of training camp next week and the 2026 season.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

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