The NFL has sent a letter to prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket among them, asking them to stop listing a set of contracts tied to NFL games. The letter, obtained by ABC News, went out on Thursday, a week before the 2026 regular season starts. It was written by Sabrina Perel, the league's Chief Compliance Officer.
The league listed the categories it considers problematic: fan safety, player injury status — such as whether a player takes the field in a given week — and player misconduct. Separately, the NFL asks for limits on contracts covering broadcast mentions and celebrity attendance at games. Its argument is that one person can influence such an outcome.
Contracts one player can swing
The league put in the manipulation-prone group a kicker missing a field goal, an incomplete first pass by a quarterback, an incomplete first target by a receiver, and a running back gaining fewer than a set number of yards on his first carry. It also wants contracts tied to officiating decisions pulled, including the number of flags in a game.
Perel's letter says such listings threaten the integrity of games and create risks for players, coaches and officials, and for participants on the exchanges themselves. It is the NFL's second formal approach on the issue in 2026; the first letter, with the same categories, went out in the spring.
Prediction markets are tightening their ties to professional sports: Kalshi recently became the official prediction markets partner of nine MLB clubs. At the same time, platforms face legal pressure — several states are pushing to restrict or regulate the services, arguing they amount to unlicensed gambling.
