The NBA is gearing up for a financial bombshell: the deal that is about to be finalized

The NBA is close to finalizing several agreements with sports betting companies and prediction markets ahead of the 2026-27 regular season. The league has been exploring its entry into this sector for months, and according to industry sources, negotiations are already in an advanced stage with several companies.

Kalshi and Polymarket currently appear to have the most advanced discussions with the NBA after negotiations intensified in April. The league has also been in contact with Novig, Fanatics, and Rothera, a joint venture between Robinhood and Susquehanna, while continuing to evaluate the various options available.

The NBA could announce agreements before the end of September

The timelines being discussed suggest that initial announcements could happen before the end of the month. An executive in the sports betting industry stated that the NBA has already sent proposals to all the companies it is negotiating with.

"The NBA has sent a proposal to everyone," said the executive, who hopes announcements could come before the month is over. "I would be surprised if they didn't try to announce something before the season starts. They wouldn't want this news to come out a week before the first game."

The timing also coincides with recent statements from Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi, to RotoWire, indicating that an announcement related to one of the two major U.S. sports leagues that have yet to reach agreements with prediction markets could happen soon.

The NBA and the NFL remain the primary professional sports leagues in the United States that have not signed such alliances.

Kalshi and Polymarket have an advantage

The conversations with Kalshi and Polymarket currently seem to be in the most advanced position. However, the NBA does not appear to be looking to necessarily replicate the MLB model.

The MLB announced an exclusive partnership with Polymarket in March. The NBA, on the other hand, may choose to work with multiple partners and establish different levels of rights for each of them.

One possibility being considered is to designate one platform as the NBA's main partner, which would allow it to access additional benefits such as advertising during games and the use of logos, names, and official team statistics in real time.

The cost of this agreement could be particularly high.

According to the cited sources, the company that obtains that category would likely have to pay more than the 300 million dollars over four years that Polymarket committed to pay to the MLB.

"I assume the figure will be higher than that of the MLB," said an executive in the prediction markets industry. "Which will leave a lot of people out."

Companies negotiating with the NBA

The NBA was already close to closing a deal

The arrival of these agreements has not been a straightforward process. The NBA was close to reaching a deal several times over the past few months.

The conversations progressed to the point where an announcement was even considered during the playoffs or the Finals of this season. However, the league ultimately decided not to proceed.

One of the sources consulted pointed out that the main reason for the delay was the lack of agreement on the terms of the operations.

"If a platform had said, 'We will do whatever the NBA wants, we will pay whatever the league asks,' could a deal have been reached for the playoffs? Of course," said the source. "But there are a number of conditions that must be included in these agreements, and the reality is that there was not a consensus in time."

Now the conversations have intensified again, and all signs point to the NBA wanting to resolve the situation before the start of the 2026-27 season.

The regulatory conflict has not stalled negotiations

The talks have also not stopped despite the growing legal and regulatory discussions surrounding sports prediction markets.

The ruling last week from the Ninth Circuit against Kalshi led New Jersey to request that the U.S. Supreme Court review the legality of contracts related to sporting events.

Despite this situation, the NBA's negotiations with various platforms continue to advance.

The league has also held discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding proposed rules for sports event contracts.

In a comment letter submitted in July, the NBA was particularly critical of the CFTC's proposal, stating that it "falls far short" of requiring prediction market platforms to meet basic protections related to sports integrity.

No NBA team has an agreement yet

At this time, no NBA team has signed an individual agreement with a sports betting or prediction market platform.

The situation is different from that of other leagues. Both NHL and MLB have seen some agreements with franchises come after establishing league-wide partnerships.

Some NBA franchises have shown interest in reaching such agreements. However, any deal would require prior approval from the league itself.

Additionally, the NBA requires that integrity protection measures be implemented across the entire competition beforehand.

This means that any potential individual agreements between teams and platforms would be contingent upon decisions made by the NBA in advance.

The NBA is preparing a new business for the 2026-27 season

The league is, therefore, facing a decision that could open a new source of revenue and broaden its relationship with the betting and prediction market sectors.

The strategy seems to be different from that of the MLB. Instead of necessarily betting on a single platform, the NBA is exploring the possibility of having multiple partners with different levels of rights, although one of the companies could end up obtaining the main partner status.

With Kalshi and Polymarket leading the negotiations and other companies such as Novig, Fanatics, and Rothera also in talks, all signs indicate that the NBA wants to finalize its agreements before the season officially begins.

The economic value of the operation could be considerable. If one platform ultimately obtains the most significant rights, the figure could well exceed the 300 million dollars over four years that Polymarket will pay to the MLB.

The big question now is when the announcement will come and which companies will become the NBA's first partners in this new market.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La NBA prepara un bombazo económico: el acuerdo que está a punto de cerrar