Kendall Jenner is leaning all the way into the joke and betting the internet will laugh with her. The supermodel is taking aim at the long-running myth known as the “Kardashian curse” in a new Super Bowl 2026 commercial for Fanatics Sportsbook, where she openly pokes fun at her dating history with professional athletes and the idea that their careers somehow suffer after dating her.
Instead of dodging the rumors, Jenner flips them into a punchline and makes herself the ringleader. “Haven’t you heard? The internet says I’m cursed,” Jenner says early in the ad, setting the tone as she strolls through an opulent mansion decorated with photos of her former boyfriends whose faces have been scratched out.
The message is clear. She knows exactly what people say online and she is ready to mock it. The commercial frames Jenner as someone who has not only heard the chatter but has allegedly profited from it. “While the world has been talking about it, I’ve been betting on it,” she explains before adding, “How else do you think I could afford all of this? Modeling?”
Throughout the spot, Jenner walks viewers through her lavish lifestyle, crediting it not to runway paychecks but to the supposed misfortunes of her exes. She jokes that her first basketball boyfriend missed the playoffs, adding, “I guess nobody was getting a ring in this house.” A vintage convertible gets a similar treatment when she quips that it came from “boyfriend two [flopping] right out of the league.” A private jet earns its own moment of gratitude when she thanks “boyfriend three” for her “cute jet.”
Jenner is not naming names in the ad, but fans hardly need a roadmap. Over the years, she has been linked to a number of NBA players, including Jordan Clarkson, Blake Griffin, Ben Simmons and Devin Booker. Clarkson and Jenner dated briefly in 2016, followed by a relationship with Griffin from 2017 to 2018. She was later on and off with Simmons for about a year beginning in 2018.
Her most high profile and longest running athlete relationship was with Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. The two dated on and off from early 2020 until October 2022 and were even spotted together again at dinner in Miami in September 2024, fueling brief reconciliation rumors.
Jenner directly addresses the so called curse again near the end of the commercial while sipping champagne. “Kardashian curse? It’s not even my last name,” she jokes, underlining the absurdity of the label while reclaiming it at the same time.
The commercial is part of Fanatics Sportsbook’s larger “Bet on Kendall” campaign. Jenner will reveal her Super Bowl prediction on Wednesday, January 28, and fans will be able to place bets alongside her using the Fanatics Sportsbook app the following day.
The commercial also nods to the larger Kardashian-Jenner family dynamic, where dating athletes has long been part of the public narrative. Years ago, Kim Kardashian famously roasted her younger sister on the family’s Hulu reality series by wearing a T shirt that read “Kendall Starting Five,” complete with photos of some of Kendall’s NBA exes.
Kim herself has been linked to NFL stars including Tom Brady, Reggie Bush and Odell Beckham Jr., while Khloe Kardashian was previously married to former NBA player Lamar Odom and shares two children with Tristan Thompson.
Outside of the sports world, Jenner’s dating life has also made headlines. She was most recently linked to Bad Bunny, with whom she rekindled a romance in May 2024 after a brief split the previous year.
The two appeared close during trips to Paris and other public outings, but the relationship eventually fizzled out again. According to sources, Jenner decided she wanted space and to remain single, choosing to focus on her career and family. That context makes the Super Bowl ad land even harder.