Legendary Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, who once got the Bill Belichick treatment that Tom Brady tried to avoid for two decades, was fired by the Browns for a second time in 2023 — for placing a bet on a sportsbook app after Ohio had legalized gambling.
Kosar is now suing over the incident.
Via Amos Morales III of TheAthletic.com, Kosar has filed a civil suit against podcasting company BIGPLAY and co-owner Kendall Myles. In the complaint, Kosar alleges that the company breached its contract with him and attempted to threaten him into changing the terms of his deal.
He is seeking damages of more than $850,000, along with approximately $25,000 in attorneys’ fees.
In a nutshell, Kosar claims the company told him he had to place a $19,000 bet on the Browns to beat the Steelers. The bet was required by his contract, but his contract also “guaranteed that Mr. Kosar” would not be liable or responsible for the amount of the bet, nor would he be entitled to any winnings that might result from the bet. ”
After Kosar placed the bet, the Browns fired Kosar for violating the league’s gambling policy.
The lawsuit includes other alleged incidents where Kosar’s agreement was allegedly breached. Kosar claims Myles verbally assaulted and threatened him.
An attorney representing the defendants called the allegations “false.”
True or false, Kosar faced a dilemma. The NFL’s gambling policy prohibits betting. His deal with BIGPLAY required him to place a bet. Even if his BIGPLAY contract stated that he would not be liable or responsible for the bet, and that he would not get any winnings, that is not binding on the NFL.
Unless the BIGPLAY contract also promised to compensate Kosar for any additional losses he might incur as a result of the bets (including but not limited to the loss of his job with the Browns), it could become difficult for the former quarterback to to win.
In retrospect, he should have been sure that one employer would not object to something another employer required of him.
It’s just another example of how legalized betting has affected widespread aspects of the NFL and other sports. In many situations, people won’t know the best way to handle these new situations until someone handles a particular situation the wrong way, creating a lesson for someone else in the same situation.
