After Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field on Monday night, the NFL suspended play as it figured out a new course of action. The league then sought an alternative plan of attack to try to bring a fair and equitable solution to the teams and 먹튀검증사이트 players that have fought hard all season.

In an announcement on Thursday night, NFL brass stated that the Bills-Bengals game from Monday night will not be completed. The league will officially mark it as a canceled game, and is now putting together the final pieces to a convoluted and complicated puzzle.

Show Must Go On

Hamlin is now awake and moving his extremities on his own. He can’t talk yet, but his first concern after waking up, according to a Bills statement, was if the Bills won their game against the Bengals.

He will likely have to endure a long recovery process. While he remains in intensive care, doctors say that he’s showing “good neurologic recovery.”

The NFL has to move forward, the league explained in its announcement, which had previously been shared with all teams. The league says there is no reason to play the remainder of the Monday night game, and that the outcome won’t have any impact on postseason qualification, only seeding.

As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”

If the league had decided to put the game back on the schedule, it would have potentially altered almost the entire schedule between now and the Super Bowl on February 12. Therefore, and because the outcome doesn’t play a role in postseason participation, removing it from the schedule makes the most sense.

What the Decision Means to Bettors

While Hamlin’s health ranks highest, there are still important considerations that have to be taken into account when calling a game suspended, canceled, or complete. This is especially true in the sports betting ecosystem, as it makes a difference when it comes time to pay out bets.

A suspended game leaves the bets in limbo, with no money moving forward or backward. A canceled game can lead to refunds, depending on the time of the cancellation.

Most reputable sportsbooks list 55 minutes of play as a “completed” game in order to calculate moneyline bets and certain other payouts. Less than that and the bets are voided, with bettors receiving a refund.

The bets that stand would be prop bets, such as who scored the first TD or the result of the first drive of the game. In other words, anything that could have been successfully completed before the stoppage of the game.

The schedule change could also affect some futures bets, but not all. For example, the Bills and the Bengals, before the start of the season, had win totals of 11.5 and 10, respectively, on DraftKings. Both surpassed those marks before the cancellation, so any bets stand.

Any futures bets on AFC seeding remain in limbo, however. Their status will depend on how the NFL moves forward and how the Bills and Chiefs do this weekend.

More Clarity Coming

The cancellation of the game is only one part of the equation. The league must still determine how to manage the AFC championship game. NFL team reps will meet Friday to discuss where to hold that, according to the NFL’s statement.