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The prediction-market platform is paying James $15 million a year under the recently announced partnership, sources tell FOS. James is not an investor in Polymarket, just an endorser, one source says. The length of his agreement with Polymarket was not clear, although one source says it’s an “ongoing engagement” with multiple “deliverables,” such as social media posts and other content. Under the deal, James will focus on promoting football, not basketball.
LeBron James will make more money from his Polymarket partnership than from playing for the 76ers, Front Office Sports has learned. The prediction-market platform is paying James $15 million a year under the recently announced partnership, sources tell FOS. James is not an investor in Polymarket, just an endorser, one source says. The length of his agreement with Polymarket was not clear, although one source says it’s an “ongoing engagement” with multiple “deliverables,” such as social media posts and other content. Under the deal, James will focus on promoting football, not basketball.
Derek Jeter and Eli Manning, who also appeared in the Polymarket commercial first teased by James, are being paid under “smaller” endorsement deals than James’s, one source says. The commercial featured a slew of other athletes and celebrities, including Spike Lee, Reggie Bush, and Alexandra Daddario; some of the celebrities were paid just for that one commercial, rather than for longer-term endorsement deals, the source says. Other than James, Jeter, and Manning, it wasn’t clear who has long-term agreements in place versus who received a one-time payment to appear in the ad.
Both Polymarket and Kalshi are official partners of the NHL, while Polymarket is MLB’s exclusive prediction-market partner and Kalshi is an “authorized prediction market” under MLB’s integrity framework, which has allowed it to do a number of team-level deals. The NBA and NFL have yet to embrace prediction markets. Sources tell FOS the former is closing in on agreements, while the latter remains a staunch holdout.
Adam Schefter: The NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL joined with their respective players’ unions today to crack down on betting-related harassment of athletes, coaches and families. “Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal
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The NBA is widely expected to have prediction-market partners in place by the time this season tips off. Sources have told FOS there are “deal terms on the table,” and that platforms in discussions with the NBA include Kalshi, Polymarket, Novig, Fanatics, and Rothera, which is a joint venture between Robinhood and Susquehanna. One prediction-market industry executive told FOS they “would be shocked” if the season starts without any prediction-market deals.
James teased his Polymarket relationship Saturday morning on X/Twitter. Within seven hours, his post racked up nearly 10 million views. A source familiar with the partnership tells FOS the post was the first step in a larger “campaign” that will begin early next week. The agreement between James and Polymarket will focus on football, which is similar to his endorsement deal with DraftKings, first signed in 2024.
Kurt Badenhausen: LeBron James jumps into prediction markets with a Polymarket endorsement deal. Polymarket has done league-wide deals over the last 12 months with MLB, MLS and the NHL.
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The NBA is widely expected to have prediction-market deals in place by the time this season tips off, with sources telling Front Office Sports there are “deal terms on the table.” The league has been weighing whether to get into prediction markets since before last season, and FOS reported in April that discussions with at least Kalshi and Polymarket had ramped up. They are not the only platforms under consideration, however. Others involved in talks include Novig, Fanatics, and Rothera, which is a joint venture between Robinhood and Susquehanna, sources tell FOS. Multiple sources have used the phrase “deal terms on the table,” and one prediction-market industry source tells FOS “there’s almost certainly going to be deals going into the season.”
“The NBA has circulated a proposal to everybody,” says a prediction-market industry executive who expects announcements before the end of this month. “I would be shocked if they don’t try to announce something before the season. They’re not going to want this news to come out a week before the first game.” What sources are telling FOS lines up with what Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour suggested to RotoWire earlier this week: “you should expect announcements very soon, at least from one of the two remaining major leagues.” The NBA and NFL are the two primary holdouts in U.S. pro sports, and FOS reported last month that the NFL will not have any prediction-market deals in place for the upcoming season.
Sources say there have been times when the NBA seemed close to getting into business with prediction markets before stepping back. “There have been curveballs,” one prediction-market industry source says. “There have been things that upset the apple cart,” says another. One example, according to the prediction-market industry executive, is that the NBA was not thrilled when Kalshi recently self-certified event contracts tied to the G League (despite the self-certification, Kalshi hasn’t actually listed those markets). Multiple sources say there was a chance the NBA was going to announce something during the playoffs or Finals, but ultimately the league didn’t feel comfortable moving forward at that time.
The Big3 averaged 558,000 viewers last summer and reached a peak of 850,000 viewers during the playoffs, a 48-percent increase from 2024. This season, with games televised on CBS and BET, Big3 games are averaging 565,000 viewers, according to league representatives. How has the Big3 managed to stick around, mostly without full NBA support? Much of that involves Cube, and how he’s attracted fans via his music and movies since the 1980s.