Every other major league is signing prediction-market sponsors. The NFL won’t even let its players own a piece.

Saquon Barkley built a startup portfolio that reads like a venture fund’s. One name is gone. The Eagles running back told Front Office Sports he was forced to divest his equity stake in Polymarket because NFL rules bar players from investing in or endorsing gambling and prediction-market companies. “I was in it before, but no bueno,” he said.

The stake was no secret. A September 2025 profile from Read the Profile listed Polymarket among more than 10 private companies Barkley had backed, usually with checks of $250,000 to $500,000, alongside Anthropic, Anduril and Ramp. The same profile reported that he put his entire $31.2 million rookie contract into long-term investments and planned to live off endorsements.

The NFL confirmed Wednesday that its ban on investing in and promoting sportsbooks and prediction markets is in force, but declined to discuss Barkley’s case, FOS reported. Polymarket declined to comment. The league’s betting partners remain DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics, and it has asked the Supreme Court to take up a case on sports event contracts, arguing those markets should be regulated by the states.

Everyone else is moving the other way. The NBA this week named Kalshi and Polymarket its preferred prediction-market partners, MLB signed an exclusive Polymarket deal in March reportedly worth up to $300 million over four years, and the NHL got there first last October, according to FOS. Athletes are cashing in as well. LeBron James is reportedly paid about $15 million a year to endorse Polymarket, with a focus on promoting football rather than basketball, FOS reported in September.

That last detail is the awkward one. The NFL won’t let its own stars hold a sliver of these companies, while one of the most famous athletes in another sport is paid to pitch them on football. For Barkley, the cost is one position in a crowded portfolio. For the league, the line it drew now runs straight through its own games.

Sources

• Front Office Sports – NFL Told Saquon Barkley to Divest Polymarket Stake – https://frontofficesports.com/article/nfl-forced-saquon-barkley-to-divest-polymarket-investment/
• Read the Profile – Saquon Barkley’s investment portfolio – https://www.readtheprofile.com/p/saquon-barkley-investment-portfolio
• Front Office Sports – LeBron James’ Polymarket deal worth $15 million a year – https://frontofficesports.com/article/lebron-james-polymarket-deal-worth-15-million-year/

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