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The National Football League (NFL) has confirmed multi-year sports betting agreements with DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Betting and Gaming, ending a renewal process that left the league without a full set of official sportsbook partners for most of 2026.
Financial terms were not disclosed for any of the three deals. The agreements they replace, signed with Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel in 2021 and expired at the end of March, were reported by Sportico to be worth close to $1 billion in total across five years.
The new deals are non-exclusive. The 2021 structure sold a closed set of three official betting partner slots at premium rates, and its replacement leaves the NFL free to add operators during the term.
Caesars out after five years
Caesars did not pursue a new agreement once its deal lapsed. Neither the operator nor the league has given a reason for the exit.
Fanatics agreed terms first, in a deal reported earlier this month, and takes the slot Caesars held. Fanatics also becomes the NFL’s official online casino marketing partner, covering Fanatics Casino in the four states where it runs: Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
DraftKings keeps the official daily fantasy sports designation it has held since 2019.
What the three operators get
All three partners can use NFL marks to promote online and retail sports betting. The deals cover placement across NFL-owned digital media, presence at the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft, and hospitality and VIP inventory.
On the data side, the operators get official real-time play-by-play statistics, Next Gen Stats and BetVision, the league’s in-play streaming product. All three feeds are distributed through Genius Sports.
Renie Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer, said the three operators “share our vision for innovation and fan engagement, but most importantly, our commitment to protecting the integrity of the game.”
Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, said the league “has been an important partner in helping build a legal and regulated sports betting industry.”
The data costs that stalled the renewals
DraftKings and FanDuel held out for months after the 2021 deals expired. Media reports attributed the delay to price increases on the official data and streaming inventory distributed by Genius Sports. Neither the league nor the operators confirmed that account, and both signed before the season opener.
Dropping exclusivity removes the scarcity that supported the old pricing. Under the previous structure, an operator was paying for one of three slots. Under the new one, the number of slots is not fixed.
The market behind the deals
The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that Americans would legally wager around $30 billion through US sportsbooks during the 2025 NFL season, up 8.5% on the previous year. That figure was a pre-season projection, not settled handle.
The NFL is the largest single contributor to US betting handle, which is what gives a league-wide sponsorship its value during the months when demand is highest.
Integrity conditions attached to the deals
Each partner agreed to the NFL’s core game integrity policies. Those prohibit markets on officiating decisions and player injuries, and any wager on an outcome a single individual could know in advance or influence directly.
Genius Sports monitors betting patterns in real time for signs of manipulation. Every NFL club has an assigned integrity representative, typically a retired FBI agent or a senior former law enforcement officer. All players, coaches, officials and staff complete annual gambling policy training.
The partners also committed to intelligence sharing with the league and to joint advocacy work.
Prediction markets stay outside the agreements
None of the three deals covers prediction markets. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in December that the NFL was not preparing to enter the category, citing unresolved legal challenges around the products, and the league treats prediction market contracts on its games as prohibited betting for league and club personnel.
A league executive has since said that working with prediction market operators is not a space the NFL is considering commercially at present.
Responsible gambling commitments
The NFL has run its “Stick to Your Game Plan, Always Bet Responsibly” campaign since 2021 with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). It has given the NCPG grants of $6.2 million in 2021 and $6.4 million in 2024, the two largest in the organisation’s history. The league also works with the Responsible Gambling Council and the International Center for Responsible Gaming.
The 2026 NFL season opens on 9 September.
Source: National Football League
