- FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars all declined to renew their sponsorship deals with the NFL, leaving the league without a partner for the first time since 2021.
- There is still time for the league to sign a new deal with a sportsbook prior to the season, but all three deals expiring without renewal was unexpected.
NEW YORK – For the first time since 2021, the NFL heads into the month of April without an officially partnering sportsbook.
FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars each had their final league option expire at midnight on March 31st, and none renewed in a surprising turn of events.
There are still five months until the beginning of the 2026 NFL regular season, allowing plenty of time for legal NFL betting sites to sign a new deal, but seeing multiple operators walk away from a multi-billion-dollar enterprise is unusual.
One factor that played into the sportsbooks’ decision not to renew is the increased pricing of data from the NFL’s distributor, Genius. Sportsbooks must have a deal for official data, or else they would not be eligible to sponsor the league.
Arguably the biggest reason as to why sportsbooks aren’t as aggressive in dealing with the NFL is the difference in the sports betting landscape since their original deals in 2021. Legal sports betting sites can offer betting markets on NFL games without being official partners with the NFL, and with the current landscape of sports betting being as popular as it is, there is less incentive to incur expenses.
Also, prediction markets apps such as Kalshi and Polymarket also play a role, creating even more competition and confusion in an already oversaturated space.
It will be interesting to see if any sportsbooks decide to make a deal with the league prior to the season, or if the league goes without a partner for essentially the first time since the legalization of sports betting.
