DraftKings is getting in on the prediction-markets game with the acquisition of the Railbird Exchange, but the sports betting giant hasn’t yet committed to offering controversial sports event contracts.

The deal announced late Tuesday afternoon sees DraftKings acquiring Railbird Technologies and its subsidiary Railbird Exchange, an upstart prediction-markets platform that gained federal licensure in June. Front Office Sports first reported that DraftKings was in talks to buy Railbird Exchange in July. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction “supports DraftKings’ broader strategy to enter prediction markets, expanding its addressable opportunity through regulated event contracts,” the company said in a statement. A mobile app called DraftKings Predictions will launch “in the coming months,” with event contracts on “real-world outcomes across finance, culture, and entertainment.”

Notably absent from that list is sports, which is DraftKings’s trademark sector but has been the subject of much controversy in the world of prediction markets due to the similarity to sports betting, which is regulated on a state-by-state basis. A source familiar with the matter tells FOS that DraftKings is still evaluating whether to offer sports event contracts, and “no decisions have been made at this time.” There is potential for DraftKings to expand into additional categories over time, the source says.

This mirrors the revelation in August that FanDuel is preparing to enter prediction markets through a deal with derivatives exchange CME Group, an announcement that also did not include specific plans for sports offerings.

The entry of DraftKings and FanDuel into the prediction-markets industry is far from surprising. Both companies, and other sportsbooks, have made clear they are watching the space, which has exploded in popularity this year, even being featured in a recent episode of South Park.

The deal also signals increased competition facing primary prediction-markets players, Kalshi and Polymarket. Kalshi, which launched sports event contracts in January, has been expanding its offerings with products that allow users to trade on how many touchdowns a given player will score in a game, point spreads, and more. It recently raised $300 million and is fighting multiple battles in court over its sports products, which it argues are trading, not sports betting. Polymarket recently raised $2 billion from the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, and it is expected to relaunch in the U.S. imminently after having been previously barred from operating in the country since 2022.

Shares of DraftKings were more than 5% higher in after-hours trading Tuesday.

Flag football is booming. The NFL is backing it, the Olympics will debut the sport in 2028, and more than 2.4 million kids in the U.S. are already playing.

Unrivaled Sports, the youth sports holding company of private-equity veterans Josh Harris and David Blitzer, has taken notice. On Tuesday, the company announced it has bought Football ‘N’ America (FNA), a flag football business cofounded by former Saints quarterback Drew Brees in 2017. 

Unrivaled, launched last spring, already has more than 20 companies in its portfolio. FNA marks the fourth flag football business in the Unrivaled portfolio along with Under the Lights Flag Football, New England Flag Football, and All-American Flag Football, joining other Harris/Blitzer youth sports assets like Ripken Baseball and Cooperstown All Star Village.

This isn’t a cash-out moment for Brees. He’ll remain closely involved, and his involvement was a major appeal of the deal, according to Jim Reynolds, CEO of football and emerging sports for Unrivaled.

“The impetus for this combination was really a long-term partnership with Drew,” he tells Front Office Sports. “We think he’s one of the foremost ambassadors for the sport.”

In a statement, Brees said FNA and Unrivaled share the “same vision—creating environments where young athletes can compete, develop, and dream big.”

Reynolds declined to disclose financials of the deal, which he framed as part of a bigger vision for Unrivaled, which aims to “set the standard for what a great youth sports experience is.”

FNA currently runs 24 leagues across the country, including in California, Louisiana, and Texas. Reynolds wouldn’t reveal whether Unrivaled ultimately has plans to merge its multiple flag football businesses into one entity, saying “we’re most interested in being an operator.”

Flag football and youth sports are both hot buys right now. The NFL has been actively fielding inbound interest from business partners that would be involved in league-supported professional flag football leagues, for both men and women. Although the timeline is not certain, it looks likely the NFL-supported leagues will launch after the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which will feature the sport for the first time ever.

“There sure is an awful lot of momentum,” Reynolds tells FOS. “[Flag football] really represents the unbridled joy of sports.”

The International Federation of American Football—the global governing body responsible for growing American football around the world—reported earlier this year that 2.4 million kids under 17 are playing organized flag football in the U.S., with millions more participating across the globe. For some of those children, flag football could be their way into more competitive, tackle football.

“We talk to college coaches, we see the path to more competitive play,” Reynolds says.

Unrivaled is trying to capture as much of the massive youth sports market as possible. U.S. families spending a total of between $30 billion and $40 billion annually on sports activities for their kids, according to research from the Aspen Institute. Other firms involved in the space include private-equity shop KKR, whose PlayOn picked up high school sports information provider MaxPreps in April, and Atwater Capital, which last year led a $100 million investment into League One Volleyball.

Unrivaled already owns companies in baseball, soccer, flag football, soccer, and more, and Reynolds says there are other sports it would like to get into, although he wouldn’t divulge specifics.

“We’re looking at a lot,” he tells FOS. “I won’t give any away today, but you’ll be hearing more from us on that in the coming months.”

NEW YORK — Lou Gehrig’s final Yankees jersey will be auctioned off live on Wednesday, potentially fetching $4 million—maybe more.

This piece of sports history will hit the auction block as part of the rare “American Greats” collection at Christie’s in New York. There’s a Gehrig bat from the Yankees’ championship 1938 season, estimated to sell for between $500,000 and $1 million; and one of his hats from the 1930s, which could bring in around $600,000.

The auction totals 174 lots, each of which may be sold individually. It also includes a Dolphins Super Bowl ring from the undefeated 1972 season, plus handwritten letters from Jackie Robinson and Ty Cobb; Robinson’s Hall of Fame induction ring as the first Black member; and autographed baseballs from Ruth, Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and even Marilyn Monroe. (There’s also a few of Elvis Presley’s personal Bibles, expected to fetch $5,000 or more.) 

These items come directly from the personal collection of ​​Dr. Goodman Basil “G.B.” Espy. Born on Jan. 8, 1935—the same day as Presley—Espy was a battlefield surgeon, a humanitarian, and, quietly, one of the country’s most devoted collectors of sports and pop culture history. In his 900-word obituary from last year, there is only a single sentence about being an “avid collector” of sports memorabilia.

The lot was meticulously cared for, curated, and cataloged by Espy. It was put up for sale through Christie’s by his surviving family. Nathalie Ferneau of Christie’s, who is running the sale, tells Front Office Sports the auction house “jumped” at the chance when it became known the collection was available. 

Overall, estimates indicate the collection could bring in more than $9 million once it is all sold. 

Christie’s and its main rival, Sotheby’s, are household names in the art world, but neither has historically been heavily involved in sports collectibles. That is changing. Experts say the Espy auction reflects the growing prominence of sports memorabilia as a serious asset class, attracting both collectors and investors. 

Front Office Sports

Dan Lorber, cofounder and CEO of Stadium Insurance, which specializes in high-value sports collectibles, sees the demand climbing. He has worked with clients including athletes and private-equity investors. “It’s crazy how many people want to get into this space, how this asset class has taken off,” he tells FOS. “I add a $1 million card to someone’s policy once a month, maybe once a week.”

Separate September reports from Market Research Intellect and Deep Market Insights each predicted the sports memorabilia market will grow from under $30 billion to more than $42 billion within the next 10 years. Some are even more bullish; in April, market research firm Mark & Spark Solutions projected the sports memorabilia collectibles market would grow to almost $71 billion by 2030.

Wealthy individuals and household names have displayed interest in sports memorabilia, such as Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, who teamed up with two others to pay a record $12.9 million for an autographed Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant card earlier this year. In 2018, the owner of a Texas-based energy broker firm paid $400,800 for a baseball bat used by Babe Ruth. Tom Brady, meanwhile, sees the value in collectibles but from another vantage point; earlier this year, he bought a 50% stake in sports card and memorabilia retailer CardVault.

Michael Osacky, president of sports cards and memorabilia appraiser Baseball in the Attic, expects to see all auction houses, not just Christie’s and Sotheby’s, dive deeper into the world of sports collectibles. “Every major auction house will eventually hire sports specialists,” he says. “They see the market is growing, and collectors are willing to spend serious money.” 

Osacky tells FOS single-owner collections like Espy’s are rare. “Most auctions feature hundreds of lots from multiple consignors,” he says. “To see one person’s lifetime of collecting—and the care and time it took to assemble each piece—is extraordinary. These aren’t just items purchased for investment; there’s emotional attachment, personal sentiment, and intentionality behind every lot.”

Alongside the Gehrig jersey, the Robinson ring stands out to Ferneau as the most significant item in the collection. “The Jackie Robinson ring represents such an iconic moment, it represents change in America,” she tells FOS. “That and the Gehrig jersey are pieces that transcend the sports collectibles industry. They are really important pieces of American 20th-century history.” The pre-auction estimate for Robinson’s ring is between $250,000 and a half-million dollars.

Beyond the money, though, industry experts are remiss to not mention how significant the auction itself is in the sports collectors’ market. Brett McGrath, host of the collectibles-focused podcast Stacking Slabs, says the sale is special because it “tells a story about what collecting really is at its core.” He continues, “Most collectors today chase trends or investment value, but Dr. Espy’s approach was about connecting to history, to moments that mattered.”

Update: The Gehrig jersey sold for $2.7 million on Wednesday.