Dan Marino took the stage Thursday at a New Jersey gambling conference at a time when gambling scandals across professional sports have hit a nadir.

Over the past year, nearly a dozen NFL players received suspensions for violations of the league’s sports betting policy. The flurry of suspensions prompted the league to modify the policy last fall. More recently, the NBA banned former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter after an investigation determined that he wagered on league games through an associate.

In the past 12 months, the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NCAA have all dealt with controversies involving player-betting matters.

“It hasn’t been that often that it’s happened, but it’s a shame,” Marino told Sports Handle following a fireside chat at SBC Summit North America. “I feel bad for the people involved because they are taking away the great careers they could have had.”

Marino, a 2005 inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is generally viewed as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. A first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 1983, Marino became the first quarterback in league history to surpass 60,000 career passing yards.

Marino entered the NFL around the same time that Art Schlichter’s career began to spiral out of control. Schlichter, the No. 4 overall pick in the 1982 Draft, received an indefinite suspension for gambling a year later. Wagering heavily on sports, the former Colts quarterback reportedly burned through most of his $350,000 rookie signing bonus in months.

Fearing for his safety in 1983, Schlichter went to the FBI with intelligence on an illegal sports betting ring. Though the NFL reinstated Schlichter in 1984, he quickly relapsed, while losing thousands of dollars on the golf course. By 1985, Schlichter played his last snap in the NFL. Schilchter is often regarded as the poster child for compulsive gambling in professional sports.

— Patrick Everson (@PatrickE_Vegas) May 9, 2024

Among the infractions announced last summer, the NFL suspended former Colts defensive back Isaiah Rodgers Sr. for the 2023 season. Sports Handle reported that Rodgers made hundreds of wagers on sports, including many from his own locker. It was later revealed that Rodgers placed a four-figure wager on ex-teammate Jonathan Taylor to hit the over on a rushing prop.

Asked whether Rodgers received a fair punishment, Marino demurred, responding that the question would be better suited for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“That’s way above my pay grade,” he told Sports Handle.

Each year, SBC Summit North America is among the largest gambling conferences in the world.

Now with the Eagles, Rodgers was reinstated by the NFL last month. In his first public comments on the wagers, Rodgers claimed he made the bets for friends and family members back home in Florida. A Tampa native, Rodgers developed a reputation as a “hidden gem,” in league circles during the 2022 season. It was even speculated that he could have been in line for a multi-year contract above $50 million.

At the time, residents of Florida could not legally wager on sports inside the Sunshine State. Last December, Hard Rock Bet went live with mobile sports betting in Florida. It marked the first time in state history that Floridians were allowed to legally bet on sports through a smartphone.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2024

Since 2014, Marino has served as a special advisor to the Dolphins. Two years later, Hard Rock Café Inc. purchased the naming rights for the home venue of the Dolphins. Hard Rock will retain the rights to the stadium until 2034. Last October, Marino’s foundation hosted a charitable event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Under the policy change, an NFL player caught making a bet on his own team will now face a two-year suspension. Previously, NFL players were subjected to a one-year suspension. Repeat offenders can face a lifetime ban. The NFL has not announced any gambling suspensions since the modifications last year.