Fanatics Inks Sports Betting Partnership with NFL Ahead of 2026 Season

_{The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs met in Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024. Now, ahead of the 2026 season, the NFL has an official sports betting partner in Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino. (Photo: Ken Howard / Alamy)}

Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino has signed an official sports betting partnership with the NFL, a move that—at least temporarily—makes Fanatics the only such partner for the league.

The NFL previously had sports betting partnerships with Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel, all of which expired at the end of March.

Fanatics Expands NFL Integration

Sports Business Journal (SBJ) was the first outlet to report on the new Fanatics partnership, which is expected to be officially announced ahead of the regular season. The NFL kicks off its 2026 campaign on Sept. 9. While betting is available during the NFL preseason, sportsbooks typically set relatively low maximum bets for these games, and the handle on the exhibitions is dwarfed by regular-season action.

The deal will allow Fanatics to use the NFL’s intellectual property, including logos and marks, for major events such as the Super Bowl. The partnership also gives Fanatics access to the league’s premium media inventory, including network sponsorships and advertising opportunities. The company will also get Super Bowl access and additional experiences throughout the NFL season, including VIP hospitality benefits.

The NFL and Fanatics have yet to disclose the length or financial terms of the agreement.

Fanatics is no stranger to working with the NFL and other major North American sports leagues. The company handles NFL fan apparel and merchandise, having done so since the 2020 season. Fanatics is also heavily involved in the sports cards and collectibles industry, having purchased Topps in 2022 and now holding exclusive trading card licenses from the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

Americans Bet Billions on NFL Football

But Fanatics is less of a leader in the sports betting industry, having lagged behind DraftKings and FanDuel. While the company is currently the sole sports betting partner for the NFL, those two giants of the industry are said to be seeking to renew their partnerships, with SBJ’s Bill King citing sources who say that the holdup is over the price of official streaming data from Genius, which is the NFL’s exclusive provider of such data. Having an official data stream is a prerequisite for a sportsbook partnership with the league.

Fanatics currently operates its sportsbook in 22 states as well as Washington D.C., and offers casino play in four states. The company also recently gained access to Ontario’s regulated iGaming market.

According to an estimate published prior to the 2025 NFL season, the American Gaming Association (AGA) expected gamblers across the United States to wager about $30 billion on the league that year via regulated US sportsbooks. That was an 8.5% increase over the estimated handle from 2024, with some estimates expecting more than $32 billion in handle for the 2026 campaign—a total that doesn’t include a similar amount of trading that is expected at prediction markets.