Eagles star Barkley says he was forced to divest equity stake in Polymarket

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  Tim McManusOct 28, 2026, 02:39 PM ET

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  Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine's Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he was forced to divest his equity stake in Polymarket to comply with NFL rules that prohibit players from investing in gambling or prediction-market companies.

Barkley told Front Office Sports that the league relays to players before each season what they can and can't endorse and invest in, and that being involved with prediction markets is no longer allowed.

"I was in it before, but no bueno," he told Front Office Sports, which posted its report about Barkley on Wednesday.

According to Front Office Sports, an NFL Players Association spokesperson said earlier in the year that the league "views prediction markets as gambling entities, so players are not allowed to be an endorser or brand ambassador for a company like Kalshi or Polymarket under the gambling policy."

Barkley has been active in the investment space. He has invested upwards of $500,000 in startup companies like Anthropic, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Neuralink, Strike, and Polymarket, according to a 2025 report by The Profile.

The NFL's stance on prediction market partnerships appears to differ from other sports. The NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL and MLS all have deals with either Kalshi, Polymarket, or both.

The NFL asked the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month to review whether prediction markets' sports-event contracts, which mimic traditional sports betting, fall under the purview of state gambling regulators.

A league source told ESPN's David Purdum that the NFL's primary desire is for the court to provide clarity on the issue quickly, adding that the league would accept a federal framework if it provided the same regulatory approach as states.