NFL Fines Ravens $100K For Lamar Jackson Practice Report 'Error' That Might've Cost Gamblers More

The Baltimore Ravens have escaped significant punishment from the NFL for misreporting quarterback Lamar Jackson's practice and game availability last week.

The league has fined the club $100,000 following a review of the episode's circumstances.

Ravens Misreported Jackson Status

The circumstances, by the way, included the Ravens misreporting that Jackson had practiced in full when he had not per the NFL rules – a suggestion that possibly caused their opponents, the Chicago Bears, to believe Jackson was in line to play when he wasn't.

Another chapter of the circumstances tale is that the over-under line on the game moved significantly from Friday when the Ravens first made their report to Saturday when they corrected it and ruled Jackson officially out for that Bears matchup.

The change in the betting line of up to 5 points might have cost bettors significant sums.

NFL: Ravens Made A Mistake

But the NFL on Friday found this to be an honest mistake, according to a league source.

So the Ravens released their mea culpa and are moving on.

"It is critical that the Baltimore Ravens always operate with integrity and in full accordance with NFL guidelines," the team said in a statement. "We clearly made an error regarding player injury reporting and cooperated transparently with the league’s investigation. 

"We accept the decision by the NFL that we violated the policy and have taken steps to ensure that we will be compliant moving forward. 

"We will not appeal the ruling and are focused on our upcoming game versus the Vikings."

John Harbaugh wasn't happy with how a question was asked at the Ravens' first day of training camp on Wednesday. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Harbaugh Punted Responsibility

The Ravens did not specify what steps specifically they've taken to avoid future missteps. Coach John Harbaugh previously said he was not aware of what the rules for injury and status reporting are and pointed to the club's public relations and training staff as being responsible.

Perhaps educating the head coach might be a good place to start for Baltimore.

But, regardless, the organization has to be breathing a sigh of relief. Baltimore just walked away with a traffic infraction for a misdeed that could have been a treated as a felony by the NFL.

The Ravens, you see, picked exactly the worst timing to screw up. Their correction put them in the public crosshairs during a week in which the FBI and other law enforcement announced the arrest of NBA coach Chauncey Billups and player Terry Rozier over gambling allegations.

So sports gambling was definitely part of the national conversation at the time.

Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; The NFL shield logo at midfield at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

NFL Tied To Gambling

The NFL wants nothing to do with being tied to gambling misdeeds, although it is very much tied to gambling. So there was speculation Baltimore's mistake would be severely punished by docking the club of draft picks or fining individuals.

None of that happened.

The matter is closed. And many fans will generally forget about it once this weekend's games begin.

We say many fans because the gamblers that may have lost money as a result of Baltimore's now fined offense might still feel the sting of their losses.