NFL and PGA Tour Will Keep Blocking Players From Endorsing Prediction Markets

The National Football League (NFL) and the PGA Tour will continue to block players from endorsing prediction markets, even as other leagues and athletes sign deals with companies in the space.

Both the NFL and PGA Tour already have strict rules on players promoting gambling entities. However, prediction markets are emerging as an increasingly popular alternative to traditional sports betting in the US.

Instead of betting against a bookmaker with fixed odds, users buy and sell contracts based on the likelihood of specific outcomes. The prices of these contracts change in real time as new information comes in, and the odds are determined by the collective actions of participants, in theory making the process more transparent and market driven.

In the NFL, for instance, this could see someone engage in markets predicting whether a team will win a particular game or if a quarterback will throw for over 300 yards in a given game.

Prediction market exchanges, such as early movers Kalshi and Polymarket, operate under federal commodities and derivatives regulation rather than traditional state gambling laws, allowing them to operate in states where sports betting remains illegal. As a result, gambling heavyweights like FanDuel and DraftKings have recently launched their own prediction market products in markets they otherwise couldn’t enter. Fanatics has also done the same.

In a bid to gain further legitimacy, prediction market platforms have been partnering with major leagues and big-name athletes.

This week has seen golfer Bryson DeChambeau sign an endorsement deal with Kalshi, becoming the first athlete to sign with a prediction market platform. Kalshi already has deals with the likes of the National Hockey League (NHL) and its Chicago Blackhawks franchise, as well as the Pro Padel League (PPL) and the Pro Pickleball Association (PPA).

Polymarket’s partnerships include the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Zuffa Boxing, the United Pickleball Association (UPA), plus the New York Rangers and the NHL.

However, the NFL and PGA Tour won’t be following suit anytime soon. The former said last summer that the league views prediction markets akin to sportsbooks and had expressed concerns about a lack of sufficient regulatory framework and potential integrity issues.

At the start of 2026, that stance has not changed

“The NFL 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,” an NFL Players Association (NFLPA) spokesperson told Front Office Sports (FOS).

The league has also reportedly communicated this with players through regular channels and updates.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is an investor in Polymarket but not an endorser.

A spokesperson for the PGA Tour told FOS that currently prediction markets “is not an approved category” at the organisation.

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Charlie Baker has also weighed in on the topic, urging this week that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the regulatory body that presides over prediction markets, to pause all college sport offerings in prediction markets until the agency implements appropriate regulations.

As well as mounting regulatory pressure, lawsuits have been circling prediction market platforms. Kalshi is facing more than a dozen lawsuits, including one accusing the company of operating an unlicensed sports gambling platform that misleads customers into thinking they’re getting fairer odds than traditional sportsbooks when that isn’t the case.

Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/sponsorship-marketing/nfl-pga-tour-prediction-markets-ban-kalshi-polymarket-january-2026/