NFTs and Sports: A Great Pairing

There’s something especially satisfying about a great pairing.  A cold drink on a hot beach; a bicycle ride down a tree-lined road; a tiny dog wearing a hot dog bun costume (maybe that one is just me).  Some things just pair especially well together because they are appealing in their own right, but combined become greater than the sum of their parts.

It seems that the combination of sports and NFTs have found their unique flavor, like a salted caramel that combines to create something new, unique, and promising.  While NFTs have been on the rise over the last year, with digital art and collectibles taking many of the headlines, it’s been sports applications that have begun to steal the stage.  

Sports collectibles go back as far as, well, sports.  When you have an exciting event, when you choose sides, and when each side has unique identities and personalities, it’s only a matter of time before the memorabilia or representations of the teams and players become revered.  Player cards have long been a source of enjoyment as well as a serious opportunity for making money.  As NFTs are digital, non-fungible entities, they are a natural fit as an evolution of a player’s card, and we are seeing many examples of that.  Sports NFTs of digital trading cards were recently created for the starting 11 players of the Belgian and French national soccer teams.  A sports NFT titled Lineal by Tyson Fury displays the lineage of the British boxer and has already sold for almost one million USD.  The NBA began selling “Top Shots”, a line of limited edition NFT videos clips showing highlights and rare moments of basketball players in action.

As we see the tidal wave of sports NFT fever approaching, it’s worth looking at some of the key firms who are creating these lines of NFTs in partnership with both leagues and players alike; how they are making their creations stand out from the crowd; and what we can expect as the industry evolves.  Let’s dive into three groups leading the way. 

Crypto.com

In a partnership with Italy’s Lega Serie A League, Crypto.com has worked with the premier football division, its players, and top artists to create the first of many series depicting key moments, players, or events for the league.

The initial series commemorates Juventus’ victory against Atalanta in the TIMVision Cup, with key moments captured as NFTs, as well as Italian artist Diego Perrone recreating a 3D model of the trophy as an NFT in the collection.  Each NFT will have a limited run, ensuring it has collectible value for fans and collectors.  The series has also combined its NFT drop with more traditional sports collectibles, with 10 random fans who purchase an NFT winning a jersey signed by the Juventus and Atalanta players.

Crypto.com is unique in its NFT rollout because it has forged a deep partnership with the league, not only creating NFTs but contributing to matches and tournaments with key broadcasts such as “goal of the month” and other key moments in the games.

Ethernity

A pattern is emerging showing Ethernity’s mastery over how to create and drop an NFT line the right way.

In August 2021 the platform collaborated with Lionel Messi to create a series of artistic and collectible NFTs.  Dubbed the “Messiverse”, the set features NFT collectibles that were designed by Bosslogic, an Australian artist known for his work with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Also in the Messiverse is an NFT called “The Magician” from the team at Impossible Brief.  The series is limited, well crafted, and has sold extremely quickly, with secondary markets already demanding (and getting) high prices.  Messi took to Instagram when the line was unveiled, stating that “These NFTs are rare pieces of digital art that will exist forever on the blockchain and they will allow you to enter the #Messiverse. Make sure you are ready to grab yours. Follow @ethernity! #aNFTs @bosslogic @impossiblebrief”. Considering the post received 7.2 Million likes, the line has attracted a lot of attention and demand among fans and collectors.

Following this formula for success, Ethernity released a line of NFTs for Dak Prescott, quarterback for the NFL Dallas Cowboys.  This drop coincided with the season opener on September 09, and has already generated significant buzz among crypto enthusiasts, football fans, and memorabilia collectors.  Full details will be revealed at the drop, but for NFT buyers there will be a lottery with additional physical prizes, including VIP game tickets and signed football gear.

XAYA

While most platforms are focusing on memorabilia that acts as collectibles, XAYA has a different view of NFTs.   The XAYA platform acts as an enabler for blockchain games, giving developers the tools they need to design, build, and host their blockchain-based games on XAYA in order to take advantage of its blockchain’s low cost, high speed, and high capacity.

One game that has garnered a large amount of attention is Soccer Manager Elite, a game that doesn’t just use blockchain as an interesting gimmick, but rather uses its unique properties to create real stakes, transparent game results, and the possibility for players to make real money earning tokens.

By basing an entire economy around its virtual currency—SMC, which is a cryptocurrency usable in Soccer Manager Elite—the game allows players to take on different roles and see success in the form of earning more SMC, which gives a player more buying power and choices that could help them win.  Players are given the choice to play as a club manager, club shareholder, or player agent.  Using SMC currency, players can increase their portion of ownership in a club, their voting power for hiring/firing a manager, buy/sell shares of the players, and facilitate trades of players between clubs.  The blockchain aspect of this allows the game players to earn SMC in each of the three roles, splitting their share of winnings, player salaries, and dividends from club profits (earned when clubs are successful).  

NFTs have an interesting future in games like this as players could potentially “own” one of the football players, with the NFT acting as proof of ownership.  This setup creates many fascinating opportunities for the virtual economy, including the possibility of increasing the in-game currency value, creating a secondary market for the NFTs, and allowing for a much more enticing playability aspect for all players in the game.  

What Happens Now?

The future of NFTs is bright, and uncertain only in that we don’t fully understand all the opportunities created by combining sports with NFTs.  In the very short time the industry has had to explore this partnership, we’ve already witnessed a swift evolution from NFT trading cards to captured moments, to unique works of art, to a virtual economy with real opportunities to earn cryptocurrency.  The opportunities are endless, and it will be very exciting to see what the teams mentioned above, along with the rest of the blockchain industry, will create in the next year.  One thing is certain though:  NFTs and sports make a fascinating pairing.