From teams to centralized NFT platforms and sports league activities, a bit of sports and crypto activity at some major league games this week.
Every Sunday, we cover the last seven days of sports and crypto headlines that should be on your radar if one of your sports fans is watching emerging trends. Let’s dive into that as we approach the midpoint of 2022.
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eBay and OneOff Pair Wayne Gretzky for NFTs
eBay has been particularly active in the crypto conversation over the past year or two, and we’re now seeing NFTs really pop into the market for the ecommerce company in the long run. eBay has joined hands with NFT platform OneOff for a new ‘Genesis’ NFT collection, featuring Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Other iconic athletes who have been featured on Sports Illustrated covers over the years are expected to follow. OneOff’s NFTs with Sports Illustrated are powered by Polygon, a switch up to OneOff’s previous blockchain-of-choice, Tezos, which is used to power the platform’s music NFT marketplace.
That’s a growing list of partners for OneOf, which recently announced a deal with Warner Music in February. For eBay, it’s a meaningful milestone amid the clouds of conversation. The reselling platform has long been a notable name in conversations about payment acceptance, and is even offering proactive NFT sales support.
Magic Johnson and Top Shot Team Up
NBA legend Magic Johnson has announced a partnership with NBA Top Shot to bring five new NFTs from Johnson’s memorable career to the Top Shot marketplace. The platform is expected to announce other partners in NBA history, and Johnson’s NFT release is scheduled for June 7 as part of Top Shot’s ‘Anthology’ series.
I am really excited to partner with @nbatopshot To release his first NFT and bring back some of his favorite moments of his career to fans everywhere. Fans get to see some of my favorite dramas of my career! https://t.co/5hGKT6BwiJ pic.twitter.com/7egr3xBZsv
— Arvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) 23 May 2022
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The Flow blockchain powers the likes of Top Shot, who have paired up with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson this past week. | Source: FLOW-USD on TradingView.com
The NFL’s New NFT-Based Video Game
The National Football League this week announced a new partnership with Mythical Games to launch a new NFT-based video game called NFL Rivals. Rivals is expected to launch next year and reflect fantasy-style gameplay. The game is expected to be available on both mobile and web next year.
While the NBA was arguably the first mover in NFT engagement (at least among the big 4 major leagues in American sports), other major leagues are looking to gain ground. MLB recently teamed up with Sorare to create a fantasy-inspired game similar to this week’s NFL aspirations.
From F1 to the Indy 500, racing NFTs continue to find traction
Regardless of your raceway of choice, NFTs have consistently found their way to the track on race day. F1 NFTs have been abundant, following a growing list of major events such as the recent Miami Grand Prix. This week, the Indy 500 NFT has also started making headlines.
Ed Carpenter Racing has incorporated bitcoin bonuses into racers’ contracts, providing an additional digital incentive for drivers. If the name sounds familiar, you might remember a piece we posted at the same time last year when Ed Carpenter Racing linked the Strike to rolling out a BTC-branded vehicle on the track.
On the sponsorship side, Voyager Digital also has a presence in racing, sponsoring NASCAR driver Landon Cassill through the Xfinity Series.
Sorare’s COO speaks out on licensing concerns
One of the concerns surrounding licensed major league sports deals has been the long-term viability should the licensing deal move to a new provider. Alas, physical trading cards in play do not pose much of a problem in this area, so one would assume that for NFTs, this is an obstacle that can be overcome.
Sorare’s COO Ryan Spoon spoke with SportsProMedia and said exactly this:
“Cards you bought [on Sorare] are no different than physical cards, there are examples of companies that lost the license, but you still own the card… but we’re going to be successful and we’re going to do that with [our partners]Build a fan base and it is in our best interest to do so.”
Spoon elaborated that Sorare wants to structure deals that “will be able to grow over a long period of time and hopefully find some success.” An unlicensed NFT collection, however, would lead most people to believe that the collection would substantially deplete in value.
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Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com
The writer of this content is not associated or affiliated with any of the parties mentioned in this article. This is not financial advice.