Ahead of the new National Football League (NFL) season, ESPN BET has unveiled an injury insurance policy designed to ease the frustration of bettors when star players leave games early. Beginning this season, anyone who places a pre-game NFL player prop wager on ESPN BET will receive a refund in bonus bets if the player is injured during the first half and ruled out for the remainder of the game. Bets placed on the “under” in such cases will instead be paid out as winners.
Parlays will also be adjusted under the policy. If an injured player is part of a multi-leg wager, the affected leg will be voided and the odds recalculated to reflect the remaining active portions of the bet. According to ESPN, “if a key player gets injured in the first half and is ruled out for the remainder of the game, pre-game prop bets involving that player will be refunded as bonus bets, and parlay legs will be voided and odds for the remaining legs automatically recalculated.”
The policy takes effect just as the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles open the 2025–26 NFL season, with ESPN BET—operated by Penn Entertainment—becoming the newest platform to roll out protections for bettors facing early-game injuries.
Industry Trend Toward Injury Coverage
The move from ESPN BET is part of a broader shift in the sports betting industry, as major operators respond to growing bettor demand for protection from unpredictable injuries. In the last year alone, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics have each introduced their own versions of injury coverage.
FanDuel’s “Bet Protect,” launched on September 2, applies specifically to NFL player props. If a player suffers a first-quarter injury, FanDuel refunds straight wagers with bonus bets and recalculates parlays. DraftKings’ “Early Exit” program, rolled out earlier this summer, covers all four major U.S. sports leagues as well as the WNBA, golf, and select soccer matches. DraftKings offers cash credits equal to the wagered amount when a bet is deemed “significantly impacted” by an early injury.
Fanatics, however, was the first to introduce a large-scale policy. Its “Fair Play” protection, active since 2024, spans multiple sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and tennis. Fanatics initially covered only first-quarter NFL injuries but expanded to the entire first half for the 2025 season. In May, the policy made headlines when Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry exited a playoff matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a hamstring injury. Because of “Fair Play,” a bettor who had placed $5,000 on a four-leg parlay that included Curry still received a payout of $224,773.09.
Fanatics Calls Out Competitors for Following Suit
Fanatics has been outspoken about its belief that it pioneered this bettor-first approach. The operator highlighted that its program has already “saved more than 500,000 customer bets from losing” and estimated that $54 million in player prop wagers were lost at other sportsbooks without similar protections.
The Fanatics statement also included a jab at rivals now adopting comparable programs: “When Fanatics Sportsbook launched (this is only our second full NFL season), we said we would bring new ideas and put the sports fan first. Well… now everyone is copying our Fair Play™ injury protection.” The company added that it feels “flattered” by competitors imitating its approach while emphasizing that its coverage remains the most comprehensive in the industry.
Bettor-Friendly Policies Shape the Season
With ESPN BET’s addition, all four of the most prominent United States sportsbooks now provide some form of injury insurance. Each program differs in details—the timing covered, types of refunds, and sports included—but collectively they signal a larger movement in the industry toward fan-friendly policies.
As player prop betting continues to surge in popularity, sportsbooks appear eager to reduce the sting of lost wagers due to injuries beyond bettors’ control. For customers, this means more peace of mind heading into a season where one untimely injury no longer has to ruin an entire ticket.
