Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley says he had to give up his equity stake in Polymarket in order to follow NFL rules that bar players from investing in gambling or prediction-market companies.
Barkley discussed the matter with Front Office Sports, which published its report on Wednesday. He said the league tells players before every season what they are and are not permitted to endorse or invest in, and that involvement with prediction markets is no longer allowed. "I was in it before, but no bueno," he said.
Front Office Sports also cited an NFL Players Association spokesperson who spoke on the subject earlier this year. According to that account, 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."
Barkley has been an active investor away from the field. A 2025 report by The Profile said he had put upwards of $500,000 into startup companies, including Anthropic, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Neuralink, Strike and Polymarket.
The NFL's position on prediction markets appears to set it apart from other major American sports leagues. The NBA, Major League Baseball, the NHL and MLS each have agreements with Kalshi, Polymarket or both.
The league is also pursuing the issue in court. Earlier this month, the NFL asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether sports-event contracts offered by prediction markets, which mimic traditional sports betting, fall under the authority of state gambling regulators.
A league source told ESPN's David Purdum that the NFL's main goal is for the court to offer clarity quickly. The source added that the league would accept a federal framework, provided it took the same regulatory approach as the one used by states.
