The NFL has suspended Arizona Cardinals cornerback Josh Shaw for gambling on NFL games, banning him through the end of the 2020 season, according to a press release that the league issued on Friday.

Shaw, a fifth-year veteran, has been on injured reserve since preseason and has not played since the 2018 season.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the punishment for Shaw on Friday.

“The continued success of the NFL depends directly on each of us doing everything necessary to safeguard the integrity of the game and the reputations of all who participate in the league,” Goodell said in the league’s release.

“At the core of this responsibility is the longstanding principle that betting on NFL games, or on any element of a game, puts at risk the integrity of the game, damages public confidence in the NFL, and is forbidden under all circumstances. If you work in the NFL in any capacity, you may not bet on NFL football.”

According to the release, the league conducted an investigation and concluded that none of Shaw’s teammates, coaches or other members of the organization knew that Shaw was betting on games. The NFL also said that the “investigation uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”

Shaw, 27, has the option of appealing the suspension within three days, in accord with the collective bargaining agreement between the league and his union, the National Football League Players Association. According to the terms of the suspension, he would be eligible to apply for reinstatement on Feb. 15, 2021.

Shaw, a 2015 draft pick out of USC, played his first three seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent the 2018 season split between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has one interception in 55 career games.

The Cardinals signed him to a one-year free agent contract in the offseason.

NFL Guidelines, History Regarding Gambling

In 2018 the NFL issued a 5-page guide regarding gambling, spelling out that the league prohibits gambling on games and that the rule “applies to all full- and part-time league and club personnel” including players.

The last time a player was suspended for betting on NFL games was Colts quarterback Art Schlichter in 1983.

Probably the NFL’s most notable gambling-related ban was in 1963, when Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive lineman Alex Karras were suspended for the 1963 season. Both returned to the league for the 1964 season and Hornung was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This summer Hornung, now 83, placed the first bet when the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Hotel & Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana opened its sportsbook.

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