ESPN Employee Didn’t Violate Rules in $1 Million DraftKings Win

ESPN researcher Mackenzie Kraemer did not violate company guidelines when he won $1 million in a DraftKings “best ball” fantasy contest this week, a source told Front Office Sports.

Kraemer, who has worked at ESPN since 2011, announced Monday that he finished second in a massive DraftKings contest, propelled by big performances from Bears receiver Luther Burden this week and Falcons running back Bijan Robinson all season.

While there was some chatter on social media about a perceived conflict of interest since DraftKings is the official sportsbook of ESPN, it bears mentioning that this was a season-long contest in which participants drafted their players prior to the NFL season—before ESPN unwound its sportsbook deal with Penn Entertainment and switched to DraftKings.

This is also not analogous to the infamous incident in 2015 when a DraftKings employee won $350,000 in a contest at rival FanDuel and was suspected of having an unfair advantage. 

An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment. ESPN personalities like Adam Schefter and Matthew Berry took to Twitter to congratulate Kraemer.

ESPN’s employee gambling guidelines were publicized by Covers in 2023, and primarily prohibit journalists and insiders from wagering on sports they cover. As a researcher, Kraemer would not fall into this category. 

Nevertheless, it’s possible ESPN will revisit its employee guidelines in light of DraftKings having more offerings in the fantasy space than Penn, and in particular, contests in which you’re competing against other users, as opposed to against the house.