The NFL has been noticeably slow to hitch its wagon to the prediction market business, and that is intentional.
Late last year, the NFL submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, which oversaw a hearing on prediction markets. The league noted the lack of “guardrails” on prediction markets, and called out so-called “mention markets” in particular — taking a financial position on whether broadcasters will say certain words.
In an interview with CNBC this week, commissioner Roger Goodell doubled down on the league’s criticism of the lucrative new wagering system, best known through companies like Polymarket and Kalshi. Goodell affirmed that the league will not strike partnerships with any of these companies until their are “stronger regulations” in place.
“We’ve been really clear about that, and it’s not a surprise, I think, for anybody. We think that there needs to be stronger regulations into the prediction markets,” he said. “We want to see that to protect the integrity of our game. We want to make sure we’re protecting the consumers that are on those platforms for the NFL.”
Major League Baseball has an official partnership with Polymarket, and top NBA superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are in business with markets.
Goodell alluded to the fact that the NFL can afford to wait, given the billions it absorbs in revenue each year and its growing dominance over the American sports market.
“We’re proud of our relationships, and we think we’re doing it the right way. We don’t feel like we have to be first to this,” he said. “We feel like we’re going to be right. And the best thing to do is be patient and make sure you keep the integrity of the game No. 1.”
With business and political leaders regularly in trouble for prediction market manipulation and so many markets geared around clearly manipulable outcomes, the NFL is saying what everyone knows to be true of prediction markets. The question is whether their public pressure campaign will actually spur the government toward regulatory action.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.