Imagine waiting months for football season to start, and two games into the regular season your favorite player gets injured and is out for the second half of their second game.
Not only that, but you placed a bet on them! They exited the game and will not be returning to finish.
Does that mean you lost the bet?
And, more importantly, WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR MONEY?!
Let’s Start from the Beginning…
Let’s back up a bit…
Thursday Night Football gave us a Bills-Lions battle that ended in a Bills win and DJ Moore missing the second half of the game.
It was just under three minutes left in the second quarter, on Detroit’s 6-yard line. Josh Allen throws to DJ Moore, and Moore goes down in the end zone. Incomplete pass AND two things happen simultaneously—a flag on the play, and DJ Moore went down hard and landed on his shoulder.
The Show Must Go On…
DJ Moore was escorted off the field by trainers. In the back, Moore was X-rayed and downgraded to OUT for the rest of the game. No return.
When he left, Moore had 0 receptions, one rushing attempt for minus-1 yard, and the pass he was attempting to catch when he injured his shoulder was wiped from the stat sheet because of a holding call during the play.
The Bills won 41–31, but Moore had zeros across the board—except for his minus-1 yard.
The Sportsbooks Leaned In…
Aside from the shit talking about whose team is going all the way and whose team is going to the imaginary “I didn’t make the playoffs” couch, another one of America’s pastimes is using sportsbooks. Think Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel or William Hill.
The apps you go to when you wanna gamble, but Baccarat & Blackjack aren’t exactly your cup of chips. However, calling your predictions and being correct 34.7010% of the time—that’s more your speed. That’s where these guys come in.
So, why did they lean in? Because of the bettors. Because CYA—literally.
When injuries happen on the field in real time, it can affect the bets that people place in real time. Sportsbooks do this little thing called activating Injury Protection.
What is Injury Protection & Where is My Money?!
The rules, criteria, and names of the protection vary by company and depend on which company you placed your bet with, but the general overall purpose is the same—Cover Your Ass. Yours, not theirs.
And no, this does not happen because the sportsbook knows more than you do. They don’t have inside knowledge, but they are tracking the games just like you are—their money is on the line too. And things happen, like injuries, that could affect your money.
Now, DraftKings calls it being “Early Exit Protected.” They say it’s a program for bets materially affected by an early injury.
In normal people terms—for NFL players, if an eligible player leaves during the first half and doesn’t return, eligible selections or eligible bets placed on that injured player are voided.
Other sportsbooks may call it an Injury Protection policy, but the basic idea is similar—qualifying bets affected by a player’s early exit may be protected.
Of course, there are other nuances and caveats attached, so check the rules and regulations of the sportsbook company you placed your wager with.
So, if you place a wager and something happens to affect that wager, there is a chance that your money will get returned to you.
And as for DJ Moore, he’s believed to have suffered an AC joint sprain. It’s not considered serious, but he’s what they call day-to-day.
Now you have two things to look for—is your wager injury protected, and does Moore play in next week’s game?
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