Chicago startup FutureSports is expanding the opportunity for traders and fans to take monetary positions on sports, in a new deal with MLB.FutureSports said Monday it will establish financial indexes based on the performance of the Cubs, White Sox and 28 other teams in the league using in-game stat istics provided by MLB. The futures contracts will be offered by Loop-based CME Group, which operates the world’s largest derivatives exchange.“Our mission is to evolve sports or transition sports out of the binary, sort of, entertainment realm and into the institutional risk management sector,” FutureSports co-founder Rhett Dinsdale said.Binary options are mostly affiliated with prediction markets, like Kalshi and Polymarket, which offer yes-or-no wagers tied to real world outcomes.Futures contracts, by contrast, focus on asset price changes over time, allowing savvy everyday and institutional traders to hedge against price swings — commonly associated with financial and agricultural products — or speculate on price movements.The deal comes about a month after FutureSports announced a similar landmark agreement with the NHL, following a partnership with CME to help launch the indexes. Futures indexes and contracts tied to NHL teams are scheduled to launch Sept. 28, the day before the season opener.Even though baseball is in its last week of games — with the Cubs and White Sox vying for rare playoff berths in the same year — Dinsdale inferred regulatory approvals could be on deck. “I wouldn't rule anything out,” he said.Inside baseballDinsdale and FutureSports co-founder Leigh Taylforth have been courting MLB since 2022, when they started the company in Australia before relocating to Chicago.A pair of its influential investors played key roles in introducing the duo to MLB decision-makers and during negotiations, according to Dinsdale.“Elysian Park and John Henry and his family office have been instrumental in helping us secure a deal at the MLB,” he said. “It’s been a long hard road, but we're there. And we think we've got an excellent partner in MLB, and we’re excited to get some products out there.”Elysian Park Ventures is the investment arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers' ownership group. Henry, a legendary investment manager and commodities trader, founded Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, Pittsburgh Penguins and other sports assets. FutureSports co-founders Rhett Dinsdale (left) and Leigh TaylforthPat Nabong/Sun-Times Other FutureSports financial backers include Cubs ownership group Marquee Ventures, trading platform Robinhood and CME.The MLB index, similar to the NHL index, will open at 7,500 points and fluctuate throughout a game based on real-time statistical data, as well as in-game, seasonal and championship milestones, according to FutureSports.MLB is not involved in the determination, calculation or governance of indexes. And like the NHL, MLB players, coaches, umpires and staff are prohibited from trading CME FutureSports Performance Indexes baseball futures contracts, the league confirmed. Fenway Sports Group and the White Sox declined to comment. Elysian Park and the Cubs didn't respond to a request for comment.Confluence of factorsThe latest play by FutureSports and CME aims to capture more retail traders while tapping into the global sports industry, which the firm Research and Markets pegs to hit $651 billion in sales in 2028.“We believe there is an opportunity to bring investing and hedging discipline to the business of professional baseball,” Tim McCourt, CME’s senior managing director and global head of equities, FX and alternative products, said.Retail trading has exploded the last few years amid the popularity of trading apps like Robinhood, investor chat rooms on Reddit and the booming business of prediction markets and their proliferation in everyday life, from in-game advertisements to social media campaigns.Trading volume on eight of the leading prediction market platforms on Sept. 13, the first Sunday of NFL games, topped $3.1 billion, nearly surpassing the record from the previous day of college football games, according to a Jeffries analyst note cited by Front Office Sports.“There is no doubt that sports prediction markets have definitely helped open up the markets' eyes to the possibility of sports as an asset class,” Dinsdale said. Related Chicago startup’s NHL deal creates new way to bet on sports teams’ performance ...read more read less