The NFL Draft Just Became a Goldmine for Insiders, and Nobody's Talking About How to Stop It

Back in 2016, when the San Diego Chargers shocked everyone by drafting Joey Bosa at No. 3, maybe 20 to 30 people inside the organization actually knew it was coming. Today? That same insider information could turn into serious cash in minutes, and the league has almost no way to stop it.

According to Tom Telesco, the former Chargers GM who ran the front office from 2013 to 2023, the leak risk has fundamentally changed. A decade ago, an insider betting on draft picks would have needed to place bets illegally or through sketchy offshore outfits. Now they can just log onto a prediction market website, create an account, and bet with total anonymity. The money would be there waiting.

The Information Stays Secret Until It Doesn't

Telesco knows exactly how many people hold draft secrets inside an organization. Meetings with ownership, detailed scouting sessions where the draft board gets built, internal whispers in the hallways, the draft room itself. By his count, between 20 and 30 people would know who the Chargers were targeting 24 hours before draft day. That's a lot of potential leaks.

"This scares the s--- out of me," Telesco said. "It's something I never would have considered a possibility."

What Can Teams Actually Do About It?

Not much, according to Telesco. The best move is to shrink the circle of people who know anything at all and hope nobody gets stupid enough to sell. You can threaten your staff. You can tell them heads will roll. But at some point, you have to trust your employees, and if you don't, you hired the wrong people in the first place.

"When I was a scout, we treated this information like state secrets," Telesco said. "The only thing you can really do is scare people and tell them that heads will roll."

The NFL has already flagged prediction markets as a serious insider trading risk, especially after high-profile trades accurately predicted military action in Iran and Venezuela. Congress is paying attention. The stakes keep climbing, and the league knows it has a problem. The question is whether tightening lips in the draft room will be enough.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.