Saquon Barkley’s investment portfolio has taken an unexpected turn after the NFL stepped in over his financial interest in Polymarket. The Philadelphia Eagles running back, who had invested in the prediction-market platform, revealed that the league’s rules pushed him to give up his stake.

“Saquon Barkley was forced to divest his equity stake in Polymarket because NFL players are not allowed to invest in or endorse gambling or prediction-market companies under league rules,” Front Office Sports’ Ben Horney and Daniel Roberts reported Wednesday.

Barkley made it clear that the decision wasn’t his. He explained that the league communicated policy updates to players before each season, as they cover activities such as endorsements, investments, and training. Those guidelines made it clear that players cannot have financial interests in prediction-market platforms.

“I am not in that right now,” Barkley told FOS. “I am not allowed to be in that…I was in it before, but no bueno.”

The NFL confirmed on Wednesday that it prohibits players from investing in or promoting both sportsbooks and prediction markets, but what it wouldn’t do is talk about Barkley’s case specifically. Polymarket also backed off from giving any comments.

Earlier this year, a source reported to FOS that the ban on sportsbooks reaches prediction markets too. And in January, an NFLPA spokesperson said the league treats companies like Kalshi and Polymarket as gambling platforms, so players can’t be endorsers or brand ambassadors for them.

And the situation gets more interesting as to how different the NFL looks from its peers. The league has official betting partners in DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics, yet it still has not warmed up to prediction markets. It blocked prediction-market ads from the Super Bowl 2025, and it has pushed the Supreme Court to take a case about sports event contracts, arguing that regulation is the responsibility of the states.

In other places, the doors are open. The NBA just named Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred prediction market partners this week. Major League Baseball signed an exclusive deal with Polymarket in March that is worth about $300 million for four years.

MLS also signed its Polymarket deal in January, and the NHL was the first of the big leagues to sign on with both companies last October.

Players in other sports have jumped in. Giannis Antetokounmpo holds a stake in Kalshi, golfer Bryson DeChambeau has a deal with the same company, and LeBron James signed a deal worth $15 million a year with Polymarket.

Beyond his prediction-market investments, Barkley has actively built a diverse portfolio including tech, artificial intelligence startups, and cryptocurrency. In 2021, he announced that he would convert 100% of his endorsement earnings into Bitcoin through Strike. Before that, he famously revealed that he had saved and invested his entire $31.5 million rookie contract, allocating portions into stable assets like the S&P 500.

Barkley was one of the early players to build a professional relationship with a prediction market, so he is, in a sense, the person who went there first and then got pulled back.