Sydney Sweeney doesn’t just star in controversial ads. She helps engineer them

Using controversy as a marketing tactic is a time-honored tactic, but Sydney Sweeney does it better than most. After generating uproar—and a ton of buzz—with last year’s American Eagle “great jeans” ad campaign, Sweeney stoked outrage to new heights this week with a provocative video for sports prediction market startup Novig. In the minute-long social media ad, Sweeney talks up the platform while wearing no clothes, and barely covering herself with a football and various other sports gear.

Unsurprisingly, the campaign has sparked debate over the sexualization of women in sports. At the same time, though, the ad titled “Just Sports” stands out both for its eye-popping performance—tens of millions of views across X and Instagram—and for the unusual business arrangement that underlies it: One where Sweeney obtained a share of the company rather than a simple endorsement check. 

Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky recently revealed that Sweeney approached the company about collaborating because she was attracted to its exclusive focus on sports-event contracts and wanted to become a shareholder rather than simply serve as the face of a one-off campaign, according to Front Office Sports. Unlike competitors such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which offer markets on topics ranging from politics and war to culture, Novig focuses solely on sports—an approach that Fortinsky says drew Sweeney to the company and was reflected in the ad’s script.

Novig declined to comment when Fortune asked about the terms of Sweeney’s equity partnership, including the size of her stake in the company.

The Sweeney deal comes at a time when prediction markets are scrambling for celebrity endorsements to drive engagement and user growth. Just 24 hours before Novig’s campaign with Sweeney was........

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