What are ladder and escalator markets?
Ladder and escalator markets are NFL player markets that pay based on the player's official statistic for the game, instead of paying all or nothing. Each Yes contract pays between $0.00 and $1.00 at settlement, and on current markets pays the full $1.00 only if the player's final total when the market expires is at or above the market's maximum.
Ladder: every unit of the statistic pays the same amount, such as a fixed amount per catch or per yard.
Escalator: each step pays more than the one before it, so the biggest increases come near the maximum. In the Kalshi app, escalators are currently called slingshots.
Ladders and escalators are currently available on select NFL player markets: receptions, receiving yards and rushing yards, plus a Fantasy Ladder based on fantasy points. Each market's rules show its exact payout amounts and maximum.
How do I trade a ladder or escalator in the app?
Open an NFL game and tap Props.
Under a player stat, tap Ladder, or Slingshot for escalators.
Tap a player's payout amount to see what a sample $10 trade at the current price could pay at each level.
Tap Trade.
Tapping Ladder under Receiving Yards and dragging one player's payout chart from 10 to 200 yards before Trade. The chart shows part of the range; this ladder keeps paying up to its 400-yard maximum.
Illustrative players and market data. Your prices and payouts may differ.
How does a ladder market pay?
A ladder market pays Yes holders a fixed amount for every unit of the statistic, up to the market's maximum. For example:
A Receptions Ladder that pays $0.05 per catch, up to $1.00 at 20 catches, pays $0.30 per contract if the player finishes with 6 catches.
A Receiving Yards Ladder that pays $0.0025 per yard, up to $1.00 at 400 yards, pays $0.325 per contract if the player finishes with 130 receiving yards.
The Fantasy Ladder pays $0.01 per point of the player's PPR fantasy score as published by Sleeper, up to $1.00 at 100 points, rounded to the nearest cent with half cents rounded up. A score of 31.5 points pays $0.32 per contract, and a score of zero or below pays $0.00.
In the app, the figures on a ladder or slingshot row or payout chart, such as cents per yard, a dollar amount at 100 yards or a multiplier like Up to 13.40x, are for a sample $10 trade at the current price including fees. They aren't per contract, aren't locked in when you trade, and change as prices move. The 100-yard figure is an example point, not a target: a yards ladder pays for every yard up to the market's maximum. What one contract pays is set in the market's rules.
The Receiving Yards section with Ladder selected, showing what a sample $10 trade at the current price would pay at settlement per yard and at 100 yards.
Illustrative players and market data. Your prices and payouts may differ.
How does an escalator market pay?
An escalator market, currently called a slingshot in the Kalshi app, pays Yes holders more for each step than for the step before it, up to $1.00 at the market's maximum. Current escalators follow a cubic payout schedule, so most of the value sits near the top. For example, on a Receptions Escalator with a maximum of 14 catches:
7 catches pays $0.125 per contract.
10 catches pays $0.3644 per contract.
12 catches pays $0.6297 per contract.
14 or more catches pays $1.00 per contract.
Yards escalators move in 10-yard steps. On a Receiving Yards Escalator with a maximum of 200 yards, 0 to 9 yards pays $0.00, 100 yards pays $0.125 and 150 yards pays $0.4218 per contract. The market's rules list what one contract pays at each step.
A slingshot's payout chart for a sample $10 trade: each 10-yard step is worth more than the last, up to $1.00 per contract at this market's 200-yard maximum.
Illustrative players and market data. Your prices and payouts may differ.
What do No holders receive on a ladder or escalator?
On a ladder or escalator market, No holders receive $1.00 minus the Yes payout per contract. For example, if a Receiving Yards Ladder pays Yes $0.325 because the player has 130 yards, each No contract pays $0.675.
The Kalshi app shows ladders and escalators on the Yes side. The No side can be traded through the market's order book, where an order fills only if another member trades with you.
Is my ladder or escalator payout locked in during the game?
No. While the game is in progress, the app shows what the current statistic would pay, for example as Earned on your position. That amount isn't locked in. If the player takes part in at least one play and the game is completed, a receptions or yards ladder or escalator settles on the player's official statistic when the market expires, and the Fantasy Ladder settles on the player's Sleeper score at that time. Either can differ from the in-game number. Yards can also go down during a game, such as on a play that loses yards.
Can I sell a ladder or escalator before the game ends?
Yes, while the market is open for trading and another member will buy at your price. Prices move during the game, and trading can be paused. If you sell, including with Cash out, you receive the price your order fills at, less any trading fees, and the buyer receives whatever those contracts pay at settlement.
What happens on a ladder or escalator if the player doesn't play?
It depends on the market:
Receptions, receiving yards and rushing yards ladders and escalators: if the player doesn't participate in at least one play of the game, including when the player is designated inactive, the market settles at a fair price determined by Kalshi at its sole discretion. That price may be based on trading before the player's absence was known, so it can differ from the last trade, and it isn't a refund.
Fantasy Ladder: if no fantasy score is recorded for the player, such as when the player doesn't play or is inactive, the player is treated as scoring 0 fantasy points. Yes pays $0.00 and No pays $1.00.
If the player participates in at least one play and is then injured, ejected or otherwise leaves the game, a ladder or escalator settles on the statistics officially credited to the player, unless the game status rules below apply. A play that's called back by a penalty still counts as taking part.
How do ladder and escalator markets settle?
On current NFL ladder and escalator markets, overtime counts toward the player's statistic.
Negative yards count toward the total, and a total below zero pays Yes $0.00 and No $1.00.
Receptions and yards ladders and escalators use the player's official statistic, and the Fantasy Ladder uses Sleeper's standard weekly PPR score, both as of when the market expires. Changes made after expiration don't affect the settlement.
Ladder and escalator markets usually settle within a few hours after the game is final, and can take longer, for example while statistics are confirmed or an outcome is reviewed.
On receptions and yards ladders and escalators, a postponed or suspended game can still settle on the official statistics, for example if it's played or resumed within 48 hours of its original start, as the contract terms describe. Otherwise the market can settle at a fair price determined by Kalshi at its sole discretion. On the Fantasy Ladder, a player with no Sleeper score is treated as scoring 0 points.
Ladder and escalator markets can't currently be added to combos. Player markets in other sports don't currently have ladder or escalator versions.
Where can I find the full rules for ladder and escalator markets?
Each market's rules are on its market page, including its payout amounts and maximum. Full details are in the contract terms for NFL stat ladders and escalators and the contract terms for the Fantasy Ladder. If anything in this article differs from the contract terms, a market's rules or the Kalshi Rulebook, those govern.