who is making a base salary of $495,000 this season,

Think about this. 10% goes to the agent, or $49,500. At least 35% goes to federal and state tax. That's $173,250. He has about $272,250 left. But, he's probably living a $500,000 lifestyle: cars, home, electronics, clothes and whatever else. That puts him in debt.
But that's not the main point, that is, an NFL player is shoplifting. We have these NFL players who are not good with money but are living large and need more money. I think that leaves a big door open for players taking money to lose games. It happens in other leagues. It happens on the college level. Not everyone is going to take a bribe to lose. Those players are elite, have a big contract, and have big escalators for better performance. All these middle to low paid players would be willing to take a bribe. Not necessarily to lose a game but to cover the spread. All these sloppy NFL calls, the refs might be on someone's payroll.
NFL has gotten bigger in the last couple of years, and yes, the commissioner has had a lot to do with that. But that means more interest and more sports betting.
If GooGoo Cachoo is only making $495,000, that leaves him with about $272,250 for a year. Let's say he bought a Mercedes for $150,000, has a monthly rent of $3,000 at a fancy condo, and spending about $4,000 on utilities, food, clothes, parties, and clubbing a month. After the car purchase, he has $122,250. Still a lot of cash. if he's spending $7,000 a month, that's 84,000 in expenses. That leaves him with $38,250. If he drops a lot through out the year, like on vacations, jewelry, another car or whatever, he can get in the red very fast. It's December, he's spent $almost all his cash and he's got to buy Christmas gifts.
Fat Tony comes along and offers GooGoo $7,000 to drop the ball on the Thanksgiving game. It's not a lot considering Fat Tony can make $130,000 to $150,000. GooGoo Cachoo can look like he's not poor. His team still wins a game 23 -21 instead of 30 -21. Or maybe, they are up 30-21 and he's on defense. He's cover the opponent's superstar tight end. He can be behind by one step. Fake a block attempt, trip on his own feet and let him run in a touchdown or get them closer for a field goal. No one is the wiser.
