Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer went viral earlier this week for the wrong reasons as screenshots of questionable Venmo payments to a friend appeared on social media.
The pictures, initially circulated by a burner account, showed Mateer sending money twice to another account with the caption “Sports gambling.” One identified UCLA vs. USC as a game that was bet on, and was sent days after the Trojans outlasted UCLA in a 48-45 thriller. Ironically, former Sooners star Caleb Williams was the quarterback for USC in that game.
NCAA rules ban active college athletes from gambling on any sport they sponsor at any level. If found to gamble on their own sport being played at another school, they could face a six-game suspension. The alleged incidents took place while Mateer was a redshirt freshman at Washington State, and the game was between two fellow Pac-12 schools.
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In a statement, Mateer denied that he gambled on sports and claimed the posts were an inside joke between friends.
“The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false,” Mateer said in a statement. “My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.”
Oklahoma reaffirmed in a statement that it has no reason to believe that he engaged in sports gambling. With that said, here are the answers to some of the key questions of this complicated situation.
Who is Mateer?
Mateer was one of the top overall transfers of the offseason after a breakout season at Washington State. The Little Elm, Texas, native threw for 3,139 yards, rushed for 826 yards and scored 44 total touchdowns. After earning only one FBS offer out of high school, he was rated the No. 6 overall transfer and No. 3 quarterback in the transfer portal by 247Sports.
The junior was courted by many programs, but ultimately enrolled at Oklahoma alongside his former Wazzu offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle. He has quickly emerged as a potential breakout star in the SEC with his dual-threat ability.
Mateer and Arbuckle are tasked with repairing an offense that ranked among the worst in college football last season. The Sooners sat No. 119 nationally in passing offense, ahead of only Iowa, Michigan and Houston among Power Four schools. Washington State ranked No. 16 in the stat.
He was recruited out of high school to Washington State by Eric Morris, the same quarterback guru that discovered Cameron Ward. Morris is now the head coach at North Texas.
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What is the NCAA’s policy on sports gambling?
NCAA athletes are prohibited from gambling on any sports that the NCAA sponsors at any level, even professionals. The organization adjusted its guidelines in 2023, after a wave of eligibility cases that involved Iowa and Iowa State players.
As part of the new guidelines, gambling on your own team will result in permanent eligibility loss. However, gambling on other teams in your own sport, like what Mateer was alleged to do, would lead to a loss of 50% of a season or six games. There are lesser punishments for gambling at different levels, and there has been chatter that the NCAA could allow players to gamble on professional sports in the future.
The rules technically apply for all types of gambling, even casual bets between friends. However, those kinds of bets can be nearly impossible to enforce compared to betting on a formal platform because of lack of evidence.
Will Mateer face an investigation?
Gambling cases are administered and enforced differently based on how they are discovered. With a case like this, the first line of investigation will typically come from the on-campus compliance office. Then, if there’s reason for concern, they push the issue upwards to the NCAA level to be adjudicated.
Oklahoma reportedly looked into the screenshots after they went viral, but did not find sufficient evidence to open any kind of investigation.
“OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern,” Oklahoma said in a statement. “OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.”
Investigations can also come from the conference level, where most leagues — including the SEC — partner with watchdog U.S. Integrity to monitor wrongdoing. A source told CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello that Mateer was never flagged for gambling by U.S. Integrity, either at Oklahoma or Washington State.
Is it normal to post jokes in Venmo captions?
Venmo is a money-sending app, but it also has a social feed that defaults to publicly available. It’s not unusual for wrongdoing to be caught by unsuspecting people not realizing that their payments would be public information, even in public office.
However, it’s common for teenagers to use the subject category on Venmo to make jokes at their friends’ expense. Screenshots of posts from other athletes went viral in short order, and many used inside jokes or sexual innuendo for routine payments between friends.
What does it mean for OU?
The Sooners are entering one of the most important seasons in program history as coach Brent Venables tries to improve after two losing seasons in three years. Oklahoma had previously not recorded a losing season since 1998.
Mateer was the crown jewel of the revamped Oklahoma roster, along with California RB transfer Jaydn Ott. The Sooners face one of the toughest schedules in college football, featuring games against five teams that start in the year within the top 15 of the preseason AP Top 25. A home game against No. 14 Michigan on Sept. 6 is one of the most anticipated matchups of the year.
Ultimately, this incident will likely fade into the background. However, the last thing Oklahoma needs are new complications entering the picture.
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