NFL Calls on Prediction Markets to Drop "Objectionable" Trades
Mike Goodpaster Published 08/09/2026
In a letter written to Polymarket and Kalshi, the NFL is calling on the prediction market sites to drop what it considers "objectionable" trades relating to the league. The event contracts that concern NFL executives include those that are related to fan safety and player injuries, such as who is in and out of the lineup during a certain week. Items about player misconduct are another area of concern flagged by the NFL.
The NFL feels that offering markets on such items could bring the integrity of the league into question. There are worries that some of the event contracts on offer could be easily manipulated by one person.
The NFL is requesting significant changes to prediction market platforms
Anyone who's ever dealt with the NFL will tell you that the league is all about "protecting the shield." No North American pro sports league is more draconian in the measures it takes to prohibit access to outsiders.
That approach is clearly evident in the requests the league is making. The NFL is demanding Polymarket and Kalshi perform significant surgery on the current event contracts on offer covering the league.
In the letter, obtained by ABC News, the NFL is demanding that the leading prediction market sites in the USA "prohibit offering objectionable bets that threaten the integrity of our games," scolding Kalshi and Polymarket in the process.
"It is deeply concerning that bets within the objectionable categories that we identified months ago have been and continue to be listed as contracts on exchanges," according to the letter sent on September 4 by Sabrina Perel. She serves as the NFL's chief compliance officer.
Here are some of the specific bets that the NFL wants removed
Some of the game-related event contracts that the NFL objects to are: Will a running back rush for fewer than X number of yards on their first rushing attempt? Will a kicker miss a field goal? Will a quarterback's first pass be incomplete, and will a receiver's first target be incomplete?
The league is also against event contracts offering plays on broadcast mentions or celebrity attendance. The NFL feels that these types of event contracts can be too easily manipulated by one person. That could create the potential, even just the perception, that skullduggery is afoot if there are unusual occurrences during a game.
Are the prediction market sites listening?
This is the second time that the NFL has reached out to Kalshi and Polymarket regarding their prediction market offerings on the league. It would appear from the tone of Perel's latest missive that the league feels that these sites aren't taking their concerns seriously enough.
"Continuing to list these objectionable contracts threatens the underlying integrity of our games and creates significant risks for our players, coaches, and officials, as well as for those participating on your exchanges," the letter reads.
Interesting that the NFL referred to the sports-event contracts as bets. State attorneys general will be pouncing on the usage of that phrase by a major sports organization. It's exactly the argument that states are making in court. They consider prediction market sports-event contracts to be illegal sports betting. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the federal regulator of prediction market sites. They continue to insist that event contracts are financial swaps.