Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers reveal they made a friendly $10K bet on who wins Rookie of the Year
The LSU alums have 10,000 reasons to show off this season
There was a pretty fun argument for a little while during the college football season over whether LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was making wideout Malik Nabers look better or vice versa.
The two teammates both put up monster numbers in 2023, and while Daniels won the Heisman Trophy, their talent propelled both into top-six picks at the NFL Draft.
Now the two are taking the debate into their own hands with a friendly wager. If either wins Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, the loser owes them $10,000.
“We got a bet going for rookie of the year,” Nabors told The Pivot podcast on draft night. “Whoever lose gotta pay I think it’s $10,000 cash.”
Daniels then confirmed the bet on Fox Sports.
Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers have a $10K bet on who wins OROY
@JayD__5 | @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/DUlTz2rE7O
— All Facts No Brakes (@AllFactsPod) May 8, 2024
With Daniels in Washington and Nabers playing for the New York Giants, the two former Tigers will now get to face each other at least twice per year. In their rookie seasons that means two chances to help (or hurt) each other’s ROY case.
Daniels already has much better odds at +600 — the second-best number on the board — while Nabers is +1100.
Of course, there’s a pretty decent chance neither of the two win the award and the bet is meaningless. Caleb Williams is still the heavy favorite at +180 at BetMGM.
Bets like these are probably more common inside locker rooms than we realize, the players just don’t make the rookie mistake of admitting it before the debt is paid. We already know players love to make friendly wagers with their NFL teammates whenever their former college teams match up, so it’s not like the league has any reason to step in here.
For now it’s just a fun subplot in the NFC East. Besides, it’s not like neither player didn’t consider trying to win ROY before this bet. They didn’t need the extra motivation.
That said, hopefully Daniels or Nabers wins the award just so we can see how they spend the extra cash.