TLDR LeBron James announced a partnership with Polymarket on Labor Day weekend, teasing more news to come. Polymarket aired a 90-second ad directed by Peter Berg, featuring Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Richard Sherman, John Leguizamo and Spike Lee. The campaign coincided with the launch of Squads, a social trading feature inside the Polymarket app. Polymarket ranked first on the App Store for free finance apps, ahead of Kalshi, Capital One Mobile, PayPal and Venmo. Anti-gambling advocates criticized the celebrity endorsements, pointing to a Bank of America study on household betting deposits.
LeBron James posted a short video on X during Labor Day weekend announcing a new partnership with Polymarket. The post came the same day Ohio State opened its football season with a 56-3 win over Miami (Ohio).
James hinted that more details would follow. Two days later, Polymarket delivered with a large ad campaign built around the news.
The company released a 90-second commercial directed by Peter Berg, known for the television series Friday Night Lights. The ad had more than 15.5 million views on James’ X page.
Step inside Polymarket HQ.
Somebody get the ice bath ready for @EliManning after that tackle.
In partnership with Polymarket pic.twitter.com/xfv1nr6OOb
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 8, 2026
The spot featured Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Richard Sherman, John Leguizamo and Spike Lee. It mixed sports references with comedy, including a scene of Manning catching passes from a jugs machine inside Polymarket’s office.
The campaign launched alongside Squads, a new social feature in the Polymarket app. Squads lets users talk about markets, share picks and trade together in one place.
“With Squads, we’re bringing the conversation and trading together so friends can follow the events they care about and make their predictions in one place,”