Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte shared his story about gambling addiction in an essay on The Players’ Tribune. The 23-year-old NFL player explained how gambling almost destroyed his football career and his life.
Boutte said his addiction started when he was playing for LSU. He was only 20 years old at the time and had suffered an injury. The addiction became so bad that he lost $90,000 and nearly missed his chance to play in the NFL.
“I was 20. I was at LSU. Full ride. Whole future ahead of me. And I didn’t care at all,” Boutte wrote. He explained that he wasn’t like regular gamblers who could just stop. His addiction controlled everything he did.
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The addiction took over his entire life
Boutte said he would bet money as soon as he woke up in the morning. He would stay up late at night gambling. Because he had trouble sleeping, he would bet in the middle of the night too. His phone was always next to his bed, and any money he had went straight to FanDuel.
“I knew I was addicted. When you lose, and you’re an addict, there’s this voice in the back of your mind like, No, no, no… I gotta get my money back. I GOTTA get it back,” he wrote in his essay. Sports personalities have also faced controversial allegations about their personal lives that made headlines recently.
Boutte hit his lowest point when he gambled until he had no money left. He lost about $90,000 of his own money. He compared it to taking a bag full of cash and throwing it off a bridge. “At a certain point, when you hit rock bottom, every gambling addict has this moment when you layin’ in bed just seeing $0.00 on the app. And you know that’s your last,” Boutte said.
Becoming a father helped him change his life. He wanted to be a good role model like his own dad was for him. The Patriots also supported him when his past gambling problems became public. Boutte was arrested on underage gambling and computer fraud charges in January 2024, but the charges were dropped later.
He said the Patriots believed in him and stood by him during that difficult time. This season, Boutte played in 14 games and caught 33 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns. In other sports news, the PGA Tour announced important rule changes for the upcoming season. The Patriots will face the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Published: Jan 9, 2026 04:15 pm