Brent Musberger is the new voice of the Oakland Raiders. He is also the face of the sports gambling themed Vegas Stats and Information Network. Those may seem like two jobs that certain people would want to make sure never overlap.
Musberger, though, doesn’t just hold both positions, he won’t compromise for either. He told WOR radio in New York that he will still be placing bets on football games this season.
It has not been brought up to me and I insisted in my negotiations with the Raiders that I would not have to adhere to the NFL rules. I’m aware of the rules that exist and I understand why the players, the coaches, the people in the front office can’t, but I’m in the middle of doing gambling shows for VSiN, I participate in the Super Contest at the Westgate. So I wasn’t going to hide the fact that I take an occasional position.
The sports broadcasting landscape is obviously changing in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling to leave laws about sports gambling up to individual states. Networks have been launched. New shows have been launched. Established shows have added gambling experts.
Al Michaels has said that he won’t change his style and will still make references to the line during Sunday Night Football on NBC. Brent Musberger is the first team broadcaster to come right out and say that he will be gambling on games though. He did mention that he will not place bets on any games involving the Raiders.
I’ll probably stay away from the Raiders not because of any rules or anything, but because of a bias factor. You don’t want to do that if you’re gambling on football games. The truth is, I live here in Nevada and it’s perfectly legal and I bet at the Southpoint, I bet at the Westgate, I bet at the stations. I’m not a big-time bettor at all. I’m a recreational bettor. I enjoy it. It enhances the experience to me. But there have been no restrictions placed on me.”
