NFLPA Says Players Concerned About Privacy Regarding Legal Sports Gambling

The NFL Players Association has raised concerns about privacy for athletes regarding the legalization of sports gambling.

Per ESPN's David Purdum, Casey Schwab, vice president of business and legal affairs for the NFLPA, said the change in policy brings "serious consequences" for the players.

One specific example Schwab cited was the Los Angeles Lakers' odds to win the NBA title next season going from 20-1 down to 7-2 after LeBron James agreed to a deal with the franchise.

"That information—what our athletes are doing, where they're going—has a price tag on it," Schwab said. "And as more money goes into sports betting, that price tag goes up."

Schwab also noted "the athlete's perspective is the most important" regarding perception of the integrity of games.

The United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 in May to strike down a federal law in place since 1992 that prohibited a majority of states from authorizing and accepting wagers on sporting events.

Delaware and New Jersey have already opened sportsbooks since the Supreme Court ruling. Mississippi and West Virginia are expected to take bets on sporting events at casinos around the start of the 2018 college football and NFL seasons.