An early shoulder injury took out Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy in Friday night’s game in Brazil, resulting in millions of dollars’ worth of voided sports bets and thousands of confused sportsbook customers.
Key Takeaways
- Not all sportsbooks voided bets involving Xavier Worthy.
- More than ever, sports bettors need to understand the terms and conditions of their wagers.
- Sportsbooks may learn the hard way that customer loyalty is dependent on competitive policies.
Worthy, coming off a two-touchdown, 157-yard performance in Super Bowl LIX, was on many DFS, prop, and parlay shortlists heading into the Chiefs’ opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Unfortunately, Worthy was ruled out of the game in the Chiefs’ opening drive after a crossing-route collision with teammate Travis Kelce. Until Worthy undergoes an MRI, the extent of his right shoulder injury is unknown.
If this were last year, there would be a lot more angry sports bettors. But this year, several sportsbooks rolled out new bet protection provisions for early player injuries. For instance, FanDuel introduced its NFL Bet Protect program on Tuesday, ESPN BET announced its new injury insurance program on Thursday, and DraftKings debuted its Early Exit program last month.
Fanatics was one of the earliest sportsbooks to offer refunds and credits relating to early player injuries. It introduced its Fair Play initiative prior to the 2024 NFL season and extended the program to cover the 2025 NBA playoffs. It also extended its NFL first-quarter injury protection to cover the first half. But not all sportsbooks followed Fanatics’ lead.
The devil’s in the details
Fanatics issued a statement on Friday, making sure sports bettors understood the coverage under its program.
“Thanks to Fair Play injury protection, the shoulder injury triggered a $1.5-million refund on all Worthy prop bets,” Fanatics said in a statement. “Customers received cash refunds for single Worthy player prop bets, whether it was a pre-game wager or in-game wager. For those who had Worthy player props in their parlays, Fanatics voided the leg, allowing the rest of the bet to play out.”
FAIR PLAY™ activated. Honoring all player prop bets impacted by Xavier Worthy's 1st Qtr injury. pic.twitter.com/unMQ5Yu6fC
— The Home of FAIR PLAY™ (@FanaticsBook) September 6, 2025
Fanatics, FanDuel, DraftKings, and ESPN BET all took to social media to help clarify the situation. FanDuel Customer Support reassured customers that, indeed, Worthy’s injury was covered by Bet Protect, promising customer emails and linking to the program’s terms and conditions.
Xavier Worthy was injured in the 1st quarter of KC vs LAC and did not return to the game. Any related player props will be covered by Bet Protect.
— FanDuel Customer Support (@FanDuel_Support) September 6, 2025
Check your email for more details or visit https://t.co/AAXcYtEu2U pic.twitter.com/k8WhZXWjKj
DraftKings Support reminded bettors that their wagers would be marked a loss, but eligible wagers would receive a payout within 24 hours.
REMEMBER, your wager will be marked a loss, but eligible wagers will receive a payout within 24 hours. https://t.co/Zo0WCrGSVy
— DraftKings Support (@DK_Assist) September 6, 2025
ESPN BET posted “We’ve got your back!,” explaining how each Worthy-related bet would be refunded or voided.
Xavier Worthy Update:
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) September 6, 2025
With Xavier Worthy going down in the 1st half & unable to return for the remainder of the game, all straight wagers will be refunded in bonus bets and all parlays, SGPs, or teasers will have the legs voided and the parlay odds recalculated. We’ve got your… pic.twitter.com/FlUcmllauT
Many sports bettors, however, came up empty. Not all sportsbooks void or refund bets due to an early game injury. So far, BetMGM, Hard Rock Bet, Caesars Sportsbook, and others appear to be sticking to their stated policies, which do not compensate or refund bettors for early player injuries.
After Worthy’s injury, a slew of angry sports bettors hit social media, threatening to switch sportsbooks. And that’s no longer an idle threat. Sports bettors have more choices and bet protection may be one of those programs that makes or breaks customer loyalty.
