helped get the bookies arrested on federal charges. He also sought the help of the NFL because he feared the bookies would force him to throw games in return for not telling the Colts about his activities. The league suspended him indefinitely but Commissioner Pete Rozelle reduced the suspension to 13 months after Schlichter agreed to seek treatment. Schlichter was the first NFL player to be suspended for gambling since Alex Karras and Paul Hornung were suspended in 1963 for betting on NFL games. He was reinstated for the 1984 season but later admitted that he'd gambled during his suspension (though not on football). He was released five games into the 1985 season in part because the Colts heard rumors he was gambling again. As it turned out, he lost a significant amount of money over the spring and summer while playing golf and wrote one of his golfing partners a check for $2,000. The check was to be cashed after the season started. However, when the golfing partner called the Colts to see if the check was good, team and league officials feared Schlichter had relapsed. The league wanted him to take a lie-detector test but Colts coach Rod Dowhower had already seen enough and pushed the Colts front office to release him. It would be Schlichter's last meaningful action in the NFL. He signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills in the spring of 1986. However, his tenure in Buffalo effectively ended when the United States Football League collapsed. Jim Kelly, the Bills' 1983 first-round pick, had bolted to the USFL instead but signed with the Bills when the USFL lost its antitrust lawsuit. The Bills had intended all along for Kelly to be their quarterback of the future. With Kelly now firmly in the Bills fold, Schlichter's services were no longer necessary. He sat out the 1986 season after no other team expressed interest. In January 1987, Schlichter was arrested in New York City for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar sports betting operation. He pleaded guilty to illegal gambling in April and was sentenced to probation. That arrest came back to haunt him that summer. The Cincinnati Bengals saw enough promise in him that they were willing to bring him on as Boomer Esiason's backup. However, Rozelle vetoed the deal, citing the January arrest. He let it be known that he would not approve any