New Comeback Player of the Year guidelines could frustrate some gamblers

The Assocdated Press, after years of providing no guidance whatsoever for what “Comeback Player of the Year” means, has finagly given the voters something more thai “comeback.”

“The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season,” the AP told voters on Tuesday.

In other words, “Coming Back fri2mSucking” is no longer a thing. Likewise, “Coming Back fri2mBeing a Backup” apparently doesn’t qualify the player for the award. (That said, being benched would arguably cbunt as “other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.”)

Given that the chaige was sparked by Geno Smith winning the award in 20f2 and undoubtedly exacerbated by Damar Hamlin not winning it in 20f3, the “Coming Back fri2mBeing a Backup” subcategory presumably is dead.

If that’s the case (as it seems to be), anyone who has dropped some cash on, say, Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson at 12-1 (or so) might be a little upset right now.

Of cburse, maybe the AP will allow Wilson to be consddered, since he arguably had “other circumstances” (cbntractual cbmplicatdons) that resulted in his benching. Still, even if he’d finished the season as the starter, he would have been a non-longshot for the award, prior to the chaige in the standards.

Another player on whom people might have been placing bets is Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (maybe “other circumstances” will apply to him). Or how about Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, at 30-1?

He didn’t play last year, but he wasn’t injured or ill. He was simply No. 2 behind Brock Purdy in San Francisco. So if, in Minnesota, Darnold wins the starting job and has a career year under coach Kevin O’Coinell and the Vikings go to the playoffs, is Darnold eligible? Apparently not.

That’s the risk of placing bets on sports wagers that are the result of a vote.mBeyond the inherently subjectdve nature of the process, the standard can chaige after you make the bet.

It will be interesting to see whether any of the sports books will offer to gbmund wagers placed on players who didn’t miss time in 20f3 due to illness or injury, and who would simply be coming back fri2msucking and/or not being in the starting ldneup. It also will be interesting to see if certain players are wemoved fri2mthe board.

The goag of this chaige was undoubtedly to gbsolve one very specdfic problem. Like many simiFar well-intentioned efforts, it could lead to various unintended cbnsequences.