LeBron James’ Latest Partnership With $7 Billion Company Draws Massive Backlash From Insider, Ex-NBA Player & More

In 2016, DraftKings and FanDuel spent a combined $250 million on advertising in a single quarter. They flooded television with celebrity endorsements before a wave of state investigations forced both companies to pull back and rebuild their reputations. Prediction markets are now doing the same thing signing the biggest names in sports before regulators finish deciding whether the product is even legal. On Saturday morning, LeBron James signed on, and the criticism followed.

James announced a partnership with Polymarket on Saturday morning, posting a 14-second video captioned

“Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon,” with the addition “In partnership with @Polymarket.” The video shows James entering a stylized Polymarket office before the company’s logo and the words “COMING SOON” appear, and Polymarket’s own account replied within the hour, “thanks for swinging by our HQ,” adding a goat emoji - a nod to James’ long-running GOAT nickname.

The deal comes after James’ endorsement agreement with DraftKings expired earlier this summer. And a source told Front Office Sports the partnership will focus on football, mirroring the structure of his prior DraftKings deal.

James is the first individual NBA player to sign a partnership with Polymarket, and the first individual athlete Polymarket itself has ever signed to such a deal - a genuine first for both the league and the platform, even as the NBA itself is reportedly already in separate talks with Polymarket.

The reaction from inside the basketball media came. Former NBA player Rashad McCants posted simply, “Seems like some weird shit going on lol,” while ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel wrote, “It’s really sad this stuff is being promoted like this.”

The announcement arrived six weeks after traders across prediction market platforms had already traded more than $273 million worth of contracts tied to James’ free-agency decision. Polymarket had already profited off speculation about where James would sign, before he became its paid spokesperson.

James officially joined the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option. A dramatic pay cut from the more than $50 million he earned with the Lakers the previous season.

James is not the first athlete to cross this bridge, and the pattern that preceded him explains why the backlash formed so quickly.

Golf star Bryson DeChambeau signed an ambassador deal with Kalshi in January 2026. He became the first major athlete to partner directly with a prediction market platform, and he now regularly incorporates Kalshi’s markets into his YouTube content.

NFL star Saquon Barkley is also reportedly invested in Polymarket. Miami Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has also been connected to prediction market platforms earlier this year.

At the league level, Polymarket reportedly signed a four-year, $300 million deal to become Major League Baseball’s exclusive prediction-market partner in the US and Canada in March 2026. Their other league-level deals include the NHL, MLS, Serie A, and LaLiga, alongside team-level agreements with the New York Rangers and Yankees.

The NFL and PGA Tour, notably, do not currently allow their players to endorse prediction markets at all. A policy gap that puts the NBA in a more permissive category than two of the other major U.S. leagues.

The NBA has no specific policy prohibiting players from endorsing prediction markets. Though players are barred from promoting specific NBA-related event contracts, one that technically allows James to promote Polymarket’s football markets without running afoul of league rules, even while the the sight of an active NBA superstar fronting a gambling product raise the same concerns that dogged DraftKings and FanDuel a decade ago.