Athletes Quietly Invest in Kalshi

Afternoon Edition

April 10, 2026

Giannis Antetokounmpo shook the sports world when he announced in February he was investing in Kalshi—but he was hardly the first big-name athlete to invest in the prediction-market platform. A group of NBA, WNBA, NFL, and other stars quietly contributed to a December funding round that raised a total of $1 billion.

—Ben Horney

First Up

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The billionaire owners of the Denver Broncos, one of the richest ownership groups in sports, bought a 40% minority stake in the Rockies. Read the story.
The Wizards are on the verge of winning the NBA tank war, as the league considers reforming its draft lottery process. Read the story.

Pile of Famous Athletes Quietly Invested in Kalshi Months Ago

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Giannis Antetokounmpo shook the sports world when he announced in February he was investing in prediction-market platform Kalshi.

But Kalshi already had famous athlete-investors.

As part of the company’s December Series E round—which in total raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation—Kalshi picked up the following investors:

Two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike
WNBA legend Diana Taurasi
Ajay Mitchell of the NBA’s Thunder
Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Heat
Connor McDavid of the NHL’s Oilers
Former NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman
UCLA standout Gabriela Jaquez (who is expected to be selected in the first round of the WNBA draft next week)

The athletes invested as part of a $4.7 million slice of the total $1 billion investment. Their investment came through Factory Holdings, which bills itself as a “family office platform built for athletes, entertainers, and next-generation wealth creators,” according to a Thursday statement.

Kalshi did not name any of the athlete-investors when it announced the Series E. The round was led by existing Kalshi backer Paradigm and featured participation from other major venture-capital firms like Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.

Kyle Kuzma of the Bucks is also a Kalshi investor, and Kevin Durant is invested in the platform through 35V, the venture fund he cofounded with agent Rich Kleiman.

There is no specific policy prohibiting NBA players from endorsing prediction markets, a person familiar with the matter previously told Front Office Sports, although players are not allowed to promote specific NBA-related event contracts.

Thursday’s press release comes as Kalshi is reportedly raising an additional $1 billion at a staggering $22 billion valuation.

Evolving Prediction-Market Ecosystem

Kalshi has stacked up the standout list of athlete-investors as it deals with numerous lawsuits over the legality of sports event contracts. Earlier this week, Kalshi scored a major legal win in one of those cases, with an appeals court ruling New Jersey cannot stop it from offering sports event contracts while its case against state gambling regulators plays out. Experts say the issue will ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The prediction-market industry has also recently begun to face significant pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are concerned about sports event contracts and potential insider trading.

While Kalshi continues grabbing athlete-investors, it has thus far trailed in the sports partnership battle with rival Polymarket. Both are official partners of the NHL, but Polymarket landed MLB and also has agreements with UFC, MLS, and Spanish soccer league LaLiga. Kalshi has deals of its own with Pro Padel League and 6-on-6 soccer association Baller League.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is reportedly an investor in Polymarket, although a person familiar with the matter tells FOS that NFL rules prohibit players from investing in, and promoting, sportsbooks and prediction-market platforms. It’s unclear whether the league has taken action over Barkley’s Polymarket stake, and the league has declined to comment.

The war to win prediction-market supremacy has ramped up over the last year, with traditional sports betting giants like DraftKings and FanDuel launching their own platforms and other companies, like Robinhood and Crypto.com, also getting in on the game.

Kalshi currently has a dominant position in the U.S., according to a recent report from Bank of America, which says Kalshi’s market share is more than 90%. The platform has seen weekly trading volume rise from roughly $100 million a year ago to more than $3 billion, “making it one of the fastest growing non-AI companies,” according to Bank of America.

From Backyard to the Big Stage

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Watch now.

ONE FUN THING

The Masters Lab

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As the 2026 Masters plays out at Augusta National this weekend, patrons watching from home have an array of TV viewing options and the ability to watch every shot from every player on the Masters app. What they don’t see behind the scenes, though, is Augusta National and IBM’s continued testing of further evolutions in the new Masters Lab, which was created last year.

“We have constantly two or three ideas that we’re using this year’s data [on] and a robust test environment … running that live as if it were in the experience this year so that we can start to tweak it,” IBM executive Shannon Miller told Front Office Sports this week in Augusta.

Many fans were thrilled by the upgrades this year to the Masters Vault, which was a project tested last year under the new system. “For many years, we would turn it on for the first time live and it was very nerve-racking in this room,” Miller said of previous Masters tech rollouts. “The Masters Lab has allowed us to really get in front of the innovation and actually come out with a better product in the end.”

Augusta National members on the club’s digital technology committee are “directly involved in the decision on what goes live” from the Masters Lab, Miller said.

LOUD AND CLEAR

Teenage Dream

Mar 28, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) skates against the Florida Panthers during the first period at UBS Arena.

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“We’ve all been around this business long enough to know that doesn’t happen.”

—Kelly Cheeseman, Islanders president of business and alternate governor, on rookie Matthew Schaefer collecting brand deals despite the small Long Island market.

The 18-year-old defenseman has taken the NHL by storm with his talent and his personal story. Schaefer, who has already broken multiple rookie records, is a fan favorite and a business darling for the Islanders, who had a front-office changing of the guard going into this season. Brands have flocked to the teenager for endorsement deals, and the Islanders have seen single-game ticket revenue spike 93% year over year since he took the ice. Read the story.

State Farm With the Assist

From on the court to everyday life, State Farm is there with the assist. Whether it’s stepping onto the game’s biggest stage or preparing for what comes next, having the right support makes all the difference.

That’s why State Farm helps you stay ready for life’s biggest moments with personalized coverage you can count on. Because no matter where your journey takes you, State Farm assists when it matters most.

STATUS REPORT

Two Up, One Down, One Push

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Jackie Young ⬆ The Las Vegas Aces guard signed a one-year, $1.19 million regular max contract, making her the first player in WNBA history to earn a seven-figure salary. Million-dollar league salaries were made possible by the new CBA signed in March. Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 WNBA draft, has played with the Aces her whole career.

Mammoth ⬆ The NHL team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Predators 4–1 on Thursday night. Owned by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, the Mammoth joined the NHL before the 2024–25 season and are in just their second season of play. The team acquired the players, coaching staff, and draft picks of the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes in 2024.

Nike ⬇ The company’s jerseys for the 2026 World Cup, which are priced between $100 and $215 for adults, are under fire because the fabric appears to be bunched up at the shoulder area—as seen with France’s Kylian Mbappé. Nike admitted there was a “minor issue” with the kits and the “overall aesthetic is not where it needs to be,” but it said it is working to fix the issue.

Holger Rune ⬆⬇ The former ATP No. 4–ranked player will play at the Hamburg Open starting May 16. Rune, 22, will be competing for the first time since rupturing his Achilles tendon in October 2025. His journey back to the court is even shorter than that of Jayson Tatum, who returned to NBA competition 10 months after tearing his ACL—already on the shorter end of the 9- to 12-month recovery time frame.