The 2026 NFL season has kicked off with a wave of customer-friendly promotions, as sportsbooks compete with each other — and with prediction markets — for football bettors. Fanatics, for example, runs its Fair Play injury protection.[1]
Who's offering what
- FanDuel said it had "protected" more than one million bets for free in the first two weeks of the season. Its Bet Protect+ feature has historically cost 3% of a wager; FanDuel waived the fee for NFL games in September.
- Fanatics paid 18 FanCash refunds in Week 2 under its Fair Play Max programme, which refunds bets when a player leaves the game injured. It called the payout tied to DJ Moore's injury in the Lions–Bills game its largest ever, and made a "goodwill" FanCash refund on an NC State game after a fumble.
- DraftKings offers Early Exit insurance for injured players.
Analysts at Jefferies said FanDuel's owner, Flutter, "appears to be leaning in to generosity at the start of the NFL season", noting a larger sign-up bonus than last year.
Prediction markets join in
FanDuel and DraftKings also offered sign-up bonuses for their prediction-market apps, and Fanatics extended its Fair Play programme to prediction-market trades. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said the company may bring forward some 2027 prediction-market spending into this year. See sports event contracts.
What it means for you
Promotions are generous right now, but they're designed to keep you betting. Use them on bets you'd place anyway, and read our guide to free bets and odds boosts. Compare current welcome offers on our free bets page.
Sources
- Fair Play: injury protection — Fanatics Sportsbook (official site) ↩
