DraftKings is now letting customers grade losing parlays as wins during the NFL season thanks to their new “Ghost Leg.”
The first-of-its-kind promotion will allow all DraftKings bettors during Week 1 to score wins on parlays with at least three legs that only lose by one leg.
Key Takeaways
- The offer is to celebrate the kick-off of the 2025 NFL season.
- Parlays are sportsbooks' most popular type of wager in many markets.
- Parlay odds will be adjusted to reflect their value without the losing leg.
More than 30 million 3+ leg parlays were lost by just one leg during the 2024 NFL season, a DraftKings announcement revealed.
The Ghost Leg promotion will give the DraftKings player base the opportunity to protect against those losses during Week 1 for all pre-game and live parlays. Parlay odds will be adjusted to reflect the value of the parlay without the losing leg.
Last season, over 30 million parlays fell short by just one leg.
— DraftKings Sportsbook 👻 (@DKSportsbook) August 31, 2025
Introducing Ghost Leg: if your Week 1 NFL Sunday parlay misses by a single leg, we’ll ghost it and pay you out in cash 👻 pic.twitter.com/VjhGlUmpVo
For example, a four-leg $20 parlay with odds of -155, +242, +110, and -300 would carry +1475 odds for a $295.09 total payout.
If the +110 leg lost, the parlay would be adjusted to +650 odds and a $130.03 payout.
“The Ghost Leg allows NFL fans to turn those near misses into wins, and keep the excitement alive,” DraftKings’ announcement read.
Every DraftKings user will have the opportunity to wield the power of the Ghost Leg one time on Sunday, Sept. 7, during NFL Week 1. The Ghost Leg promotion must be attached to parlays before they are submitted.
Players also must use cash from their accounts and cannot use bonus bets or other forms of currency to stake their parlays.
A revolutionary offer
The Ghost Leg promotion does not require DraftKings customers to choose which leg of their parlay they believe is in danger and should be protected against. All they need to do is make sure that it has been selected before they confirm the wager.
Parlays are sportsbooks’ favorite type of wager because of their high hold percentage and extreme popularity with their audiences.
The odds of hitting a parlay are also inherently longer than they are for most traditional straight wagers, such as standard prop lines.
That said, parlays can also create huge winnings.
DraftKings steps up its offers
The Ghost Leg promotion opened on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET and will close on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 11 p.m.
The only bets that will qualify for the Ghost Leg promotion are parlays with at least three legs of -500 or better, and that do not exceed +20,000 combined odds.
Ghost Leg promotions can only be activated once, even if they are used on parlays that either win outright or lose by 2+ legs. The maximum bet on the promotion is $10.
This comes on the back of the addition of DraftKings’ Early Exit program, which will result in customers being refunded for wagers that are heavily impacted by an injury during the early stages of a game or match. The Early Exit program applies to pre-game and live wagers, including prop bets, single bets, and parlays.
