Since entering the NFL, Saquon Barkley has been strategic with his money. The New York Giants drafted him with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he put all of the earnings from his rookie contract into long-term investments, such as an S&P 500 index fund. He wanted to leave that money alone and let it grow, and he would only live off of his endorsement money.
That trend has continued throughout Barkley’s career, even after he signed a record-setting contract last year. He has made about $96.7 million in salary over his NFL career to date, but he has inked quite a bit more money thanks to his endorsement and investment portfolio.
Saquon Barkley Quick Facts
| Drafted | 2nd overall, 2018, New York Giants |
| Career NFL salary to date | ~$96.7 million |
| Investment approach | Rookie earnings into long-term investments; lives off endorsements |
| Divested holding | Polymarket (stake size not disclosed) |
| Polymarket valuation | ~$21 billion (summer 2026) |
A Portfolio Built on Technology Bets
Barkley primarily invests in technology companies that he believes are making life better for their customers. His portfolio consists of at least six companies valued at $1 billion or more, including Anthropic, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Neuralink, and Strike. Additionally, Barkley is a limited partner in funds including Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Silver Point Capital, and Multicoin Capital. But there is one notable omission, a company he recently had to remove from his portfolio, per NFL rules.
The Polymarket Divestiture
Barkley was previously an investor in the prediction market platform Polymarket before the NFL told him he had to divest that interest. Per Barkley, each season, the league shares rules around what players can and cannot support in terms of endorsement deals. This year, sportsbooks and prediction market platforms were off the market.
The running back told Front Office Sports that “I’m not allowed to be in that” in regards to Polymarket. He said the notice from the league came around June or July of this year. The size of Barkley’s Polymarket stake has not been disclosed. But Polymarket was valued at about $21 billion earlier this summer, so even a minimal stake could have provided Barkley with a nice return.
The NFL’s Split Position — and Other Leagues’ Deals
Of course, the NFL is still happy to partner with various gambling companies, but it has not yet bought into prediction markets. That is not true of other pro sports leagues, however. The NBA has deals with Kalshi and Polymarket as its “preferred prediction markets.” MLB just wrapped up its season; it started the year agreeing to a four-year deal with Polymarket worth up to $300 million. Both MLS and the NHL have prediction market deals, too.
If we had to predict the future, we would guess these prediction markets are not going away anytime soon. But we would also venture that leagues are going to have to deal with some dicey situations regarding what its players are supporting around gambling and prediction markets. And more importantly, whether those moves are biting into the integrity of the sport itself.
Barkley’s forced exit is a reminder that even the savviest athlete-investors answer to league rules — and that a stake in a $21 billion platform can vanish from a portfolio on a memo. For more sports money stories, see our Steve Kerr highest-paid coach story, Harry Kane net worth and Bayern vs Arsenal richest players profiles.
