Mychal Kendricks picked the wrong industry for insider trading.
Instead of risking his liberty in the heavily-regulated world of information that will directly influence the price of shares of corporate stocks, Kendricks should have simply trafficked in information that will directly influence the availability of football players to play in football games. Because that’s barely regulated, at least for now.
The best example of this dynamic since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for legalized gambling comes from the status of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for Week Two vs. the Vikings. Rodgers and the Packers have managed to keep everyone in the dark regarding whether he’ll play with a knee injury, a piece of information that would have a huge impact on betting on the game -- and on betting on the question of whether he’ll play, which is a thing.
While it’s indeed possible that, as of this moment, neither the Packers nor Rodgers know whether he’ll play, chances are they have a pretty good idea. The fact that team and player have kept both diagnosis and prognosis completely secret suggests that the cone of silence also has extended to whether team and player believe player will play.
Officially, Rodgers is questionable for the game. Which means next to nothing. When the league still used “probable” as a designation, “questionable” meant 50-50. Now, “questionable” essentially encompasses the range from 99 percent to 51.
Even if no one reports before Sunday’s kickoff whether Rodgers is closer to 99 than 51, someone surely knows the answer. And that someone has the ability, if he or she so chooses, to make some money by placing a bet -- or by selling the information to someone who will. Or both.