Saquon Barkley Sold Polymarket Stake After NFL Barred Players From Prediction Markets, League Confirms Policy

This week, the NBA named Kalshi and Polymarket its preferred prediction-market partners, and the NFL's far colder stance toward the industry has produced a concrete casualty: one of its biggest stars.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley told Front Office Sports, in a story published today, Oct. 28, that he no longer holds equity in Polymarket. "I am not in that right now," he said. "I am not allowed to be in that."

"I was in it before, but no bueno," Barkley added.

How the ban reached Barkley

Barkley's stake became public in a September 2025 profile that listed Polymarket among his startup investments. At some point after that and before this past summer, the league told players they could not hold financial interests in prediction-market platforms, according to Front Office Sports.

Barkley said the NFL briefs players before every season on what they can and cannot do with endorsements, investments and training. Prediction markets are now covered, including endorsement deals and investments. "So I kinda had to get out of that," he said.

The NFL confirmed Wednesday that its prohibition on investing in and promoting sportsbooks extends to prediction markets. The league declined to comment on Barkley specifically. Polymarket declined to comment.

In January, an NFL Players Association spokesperson said the league "views prediction markets as gambling entities, so players are not allowed to be an endorser or brand ambassador for a company like Kalshi or Polymarket under the gambling policy."

The NFL is the outlier

The other major leagues have gone the other way. MLS announced a Polymarket agreement in January. MLB signed an exclusive Polymarket deal in March that Front Office Sports reported is worth up to $300 million over four years. The NHL was among the first leagues to sign on. The NBA's new deal with Kalshi and Polymarket does not cover the WNBA.

Athletes in those leagues are cashing in. LeBron James has a reported $15 million-a-year Polymarket endorsement deal. Giannis Antetokounmpo became a Kalshi shareholder in February. Golfer Bryson DeChambeau is Kalshi's first official athlete ambassador, and Kyle Kuzma and Breanna Stewart have also partnered with Kalshi.

The NFL has official sports betting partners in DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics. It has none among prediction markets, and it barred prediction-market ads from the Super Bowl last year.

The league's stated objections

The NFL has said prediction markets should be regulated by states, not the federal government. Earlier this month it urged the Supreme Court to take up a case over sports event contracts that could decide whether federal commodities law or state gambling law governs them.

The league has also cited integrity concerns. It has pointed to the risk of insider trading and market manipulation tied to player injuries, officiating decisions and other outcomes that could be known in advance. Those are the NFL's stated reasons for treating prediction markets like sportsbooks rather than like a financial product.

What the owners can hold

The rule is not identical for everyone in the league. The NFL has told Pro Football Talk that team owners may own up to 5 percent of any company that operates a sportsbook, provided the owner is not involved in managing the wagering operation. The league will not say which owners hold how much of which company.

Pro Football Talk, which is owned by NBC Sports, said it has asked the league what rules apply to owners holding stakes in prediction markets. It called the arrangement, if owners are allowed such stakes, another example of a "do as we say, not as we profit from" attitude. The NFL has not publicly answered that question.

What comes next

The Supreme Court has not said whether it will hear the case the NFL is backing. If it does, the ruling could settle who regulates sports contracts on Kalshi and Polymarket. Until then, NFL players remain locked out of the industry their counterparts in four other leagues are being paid to promote, and the league has yet to say whether owners face the same restriction.