The Philadelphia 76ers just made history, becoming the first NBA team to officially partner with a prediction market platform. That’s right, the Sixers struck a multi-year deal with Kalshi to make them their official prediction market partner, a move that The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov broke on Friday. This isn’t just some small handshake, either. This is a game-changer that could totally flip how teams think about partnerships and player contracts in the league.
LeBron James Just Set the Blueprint
Think about LeBron James, who signed with the 76ers this summer for only $8 million. That’s the biggest pay cut ever in NBA history! But here’s the kicker, the man found another way to stack cash: endorsements and partnerships. Front Office Sports learned that James is making a cool $15 million a year from his partnership with Polymarket, a prediction-market platform. That’s more than he is even getting paid to play basketball for the Sixers! James isn’t an investor in Polymarket, just an endorser, according to Front Office Sports sources Ryan Glasspiegel and Ben Horney.
This kind of smart play by James is huge. NBA insider Brett Siegel spilled the tea, saying this type of arrangement could become a major trend for players signing smaller deals. Siegel even called it “cap circumvention” in theory, noting that it doesn’t interfere with current CBA rules but could directly lead to smaller contracts for cap relief. It’s a bold move, pushing the boundaries of what a player contract really means in the modern NBA.
Philly Takes a Page Out of LeBron’s Playbook
It looks like what James did on his own might have inspired the 76ers organization. Just days after news broke about James’s lucrative Polymarket deal, Vorkunov revealed the Sixers are following suit with their own team-level partnership. The team is making Kalshi its official prediction market partner, a deal Vorkunov noted comes “following in the footsteps of the NBA’s deals this week.”
This whole prediction market thing, for players and now for teams, is exploding off the court. Deals like these were unheard of just a couple of seasons ago, but here we are. The 76ers are stepping into new territory, and you better believe other teams are watching closely. In a season where James showed everyone how players could change the game off the court, his own team in Philadelphia is doing the exact same thing. It is certainly something new, and you can bet that other teams will likely start pursuing similar partnerships.
This is just the beginning. The league is evolving fast, and these kinds of groundbreaking partnerships are only going to grow. It’s wild to see what teams and players are figuring out to get ahead in this ever-changing landscape.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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