CME Teams with FutureSports to Offer New Sports Derivatives

CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) is partnering with FutureSports to launch derivatives based on the index provider’s gauges of college and professional athlete and team performance.

The exchange operator is planning to list futures and options contracts on FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI), according to a statement issued today by the two Chicago-based companies. Some of the new contracts are expected to go live in the coming weeks and will be available to both professional and retail traders with the target audience being those looking to hedge and mitigate risk.

Closely held FutureSports constructs “rules-based, benchmark financial indexes” based on college and pro sports statistics. While leagues act as data sources, they’re not involved in governance and maintenance of the indexes.

Not Your Grandfather’s Sports Event Contracts

CME, which operates some of the world’s largest derivatives exchanges, has some exposure to the world of traditional event contracts through a partnership with Flutter Entertainment’s (NYSE: FLUT) FanDuel, but in that case, the financial services firm is assisting FanDuel Predicts in offering derivatives based on economic and financial events.

CME is wary of the sports event contracts that account for significant percentages of volume on prediction markets with CEO Terry Duffy recently noting that those instruments are akin to gambling and that it’s just a matter of time before the Supreme Court hears a related case. On CME’s recent second-quarter earnings conference call, Duffy added that some sports event contracts on prediction markets are vulnerable to manipulation and that the company wants to steer clear of the space for the time being.

What FutureSports is serving up differs from the typical sports contract found on a prediction market. Each of the company’s sports-tied indexes starts at a base value of 7,500 and fluctuate in real-time as contests are played over the course of a season.

For example, an index tied to NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin opened the 2026 at 7,500, but has since appreciated more than 36% because Hamlin is the Cup Series leader. Hypothetically, had CME been offering futures and options on the Hamlin index when the season started in February, traders that bought those derivatives then would likely be sitting on tidy profits today.

CME and FutureSports didn’t elaborate on the potential audience for the sports index-based futures and options, but the derivatives could be appealing to professional trading desks and sharp bettors looking to mitigate risk over the course of a season. With the 2026 NFL season right around the corner, the CME instruments tied to FutureSports indexes could catch on because as injuries mount in that league, market perspectives on teams and players shift rapidly. Now, bettors and traders have avenues for profiting from those alterations.

Examining FutureSports

FutureSports was founded in 2022 and the company notes it recently emerged from “stealth mode.”

“Co-founders Leigh Taylforth and Rhett Dinsdale each have more than 20 years in derivatives trading at market makers, investment banks and hedge funds,” according to the firm.

Other high-ranking executives hail from index providers such as FTSE Russell and S&P as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator that oversees prediction markets.

FutureSports recently wrapped up a seed financing round led by Marquee Ventures with other participants including CME’s CME Ventures and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD), among others.