Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested on the morning of Thursday, October 23, as part of an “FBI sports betting gambling probe,” per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Rozier was the subject of a federal gambling investigation, reported on by the Wall Street Journal in early 2025. The veteran guard was not arrested at the time, but merely investigated. The incident in question occurred when he was with the Charlotte Hornets, from a March 23, 2023, game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The investigation itself was not only about Rozier and connected to a “sprawling ring of gamblers” who are accused of rigging games, “across the sports landscape.”
While nothing came of the investigation at the time, mere months later, Rozier was arrested, and there will be a press conference at 10 a.m. ET that investigative journalist Pablo Torre says will result in “numerous arrests in illegal sports betting and poker game schemes.”
Here is more on Rozier getting arrested from an FBI gambling investigation.
MORE: Terry Rozier gambling investigation explained
Terry Rozier arrest details
Rozier was arrested on the morning of Thursday, October 23, as part of the FBI’s probe into a gambling investigation.
The news came the day after the Miami Heat’s season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic.
Despite playing in the preseason, Rozier did not play in the season opener and was held out due to a “coach’s decision.” This could just mean that head coach Eric Spoelstra didn’t factor the veteran guard into the game plan on Wednesday night, but it is at least worth noting now that Rozier has been arrested.
The press conference will be held at 10 a.m. ET. It will be held by FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia, Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch to “announce details stemming from two indictments involving illegal gambling schemes.
ESPN’s Charania said that the NBA didn’t know that the arrests were coming today.
.@ShamsCharania shares an update on Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier being arrested as part of gambling investigations by the FBI.
(via @GetUpESPN) pic.twitter.com/0SlwwvWAcm
— ESPN (@espn) October 23, 2025
Gambling investigation
The investigation began in early 2025, after suspicious betting activity and a suspicious injury raised some flags for investigators. In a game where Rozier only played 10 minutes due to a foot injury, investigators noticed that bettors had really leaned in to betting the under in his statistical categories.
The investigation itself was not just limited to Rozier. Instead, it was connected to a “sprawling ring of gamblers” who have been accused of rigging games “across the sports landscape.”
The NBA said that it investigated Rozier and had cleared him, but that a federal investigation was still ongoing. ESPN’s Charania said that he the guard had “been cleared” and “there’s nothing really active as of right now with him” during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, but that looks to have been related only to the NBA and not the continued federal investigation.
There is also a report from CNN that said that officials said that Rozier shared information about rosters for games and “who would be on the bench.”
CNN covered the press conference. Ahead of it, a statement was read from Rozier’s lawyer saying that the veteran guard was told he wasn’t a target, and then was arrested. The lawyer also claimed that Rozier wasn’t able to turn himself in, and that the investigation just wanted to go after a pro athlete. Here is the full statement from Rozier’s lawyer Jim Trusty.
“We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year. A long time ago we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the gambling probe spanned over 11 states. Patel said that tens of millions of dollars are involved in fraud, theft and robbery over the multi-year investigation. Former player and assistant coach Damon Jones, is also indicted in the same case as Rozier. While he and Billups were arrested the same morning, they are not involved in the same cases.
Apparently Porter, Rozier and Jones all helped rigged the following games.
Nightmare scenario for the NBA pic.twitter.com/jVC6BcfQ4M
— Wiz Betz 🧙♀️ (@WizBetz) October 23, 2025
The U.S. Attorney said that the investigations in both cases are still ongoing. The poker case involving Billups was called “Operation Royal Flush” while Rozier’s was called “Operation Nothing But Bet.”
Rozier, and Billups, have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA, per Charania. The NBA, which had initially cleared Rozier, released a statement announcing his leave.
NBA statement on Billups and Rozier being placed on leave from their respective teams: https://t.co/Bm1rC3Jwq1 pic.twitter.com/aoXqj4IEAL
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 23, 2025
MORE: NBA lifetime bans: Jontay Porter, OJ Mayo, and Donald Sterling among those on infamous list
Did Terry Rozier gamble?
Rozier himself doesn’t seem to have gambled. He is largely included in the case because he allegedly faked an injury in that March 2023 game. Rozier also allegedly provided roster information to gamblers, so while he didn’t directly place bets, he allegedly directly impacted the outcome of certain bets through his fake injury and his information.
What game did Terry Rozier allegedly gamble on?
On March 23, 2003 the Hornets took on the Pelicans. Rozier played less than 10 minutes of the game, and was sidelined the rest of the contest due to a “foot injury.” ESPN initially reported that a large number of bettors were hammering the under for Rozier’s stats in the gambling investigation. It found that bettors were “parlaying the unders on Rozier’s statistics, including rebounds,” ahead of the Hornets-Pelicans game.
NBA gambling rules
NBA player, teams and league employees are prohibited to bet on the NBA or any of its properties including the WNBA, G-League and Summer League. If the players and employees live in a state where sports betting is legal, they are permitted to bet on other sports. They can even play fantasy basketball so long as there is no cash prize awarded.
If players or employees are found to have violated these rules, the NBA can fine, suspend or fine them. In some cases, they can be banned from the NBA for life.
Terry Rozier contract
Rozier signed a four-year, $96,258,694 veteran extension ahead of the 2022-2023 season with the Hornets. He only played under the deal in Charlotte for half a season and was traded to the Heat in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a protected first-round draft pick.
Rozier is in the final year of his extension and is set to make $26,643,031 for the 2025-2026 season. The 31-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after the season unless he receives an extension early from Miami.
Terry Rozier career earnings
Here is a look at Rozier’s career earnings.
| Year | Team(s) | Cash Total | Cash Cumulative |
| 2015 | Celtics | $1,824,360 | $1,824,360 |
| 2016 | Celtics | $1,906,440 | $3,730,800 |
| 2017 | Celtics | $1,988,520 | $5,719,320 |
| 2018 | Celtics | $3,050,390 | $8,769,710 |
| 2019 | Hornets | $18,651,316 | $27,421,026 |
| 2020 | Hornets | $18,900,000 | $46,321,026 |
| 2021 | Hornets | $17,905,263 | $64,226,289 |
| 2022 | Hornets | $21,486,316 | $85,712,605 |
| 2023 | Hornets. Heat | Hornets: $12,136,064 Heat: $11,069,157 |
$108,917,826 |
| 2024 | Heat | $24,924,126 | $133,841,952 |
| 2025 | Heat | $26,643,031 | $160,484,983 |
| Total | 3 teams | $160,484,983 | $160,484,983 |
Terry Rozier nickname
Rozier has been called “Scary Terry” during his career, and he was referred to as that in the indictment. The name comes from the fact that it rhymes and from some calling him a “fearless shooter.”
The DOJ’s indictment: pic.twitter.com/mi4cWXIJFa
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) October 23, 2025
This article will be updated.
