Sports NFTs: Definitely A HIT

Overview

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that sit on a blockchain. The benefit of creating this blockchain is that you can know who created the NFT and who is its owner. Simultaneously, a trail is established by the blockchain every time the NFT transfers from one person to another. 

So, what distinguishes an NFT from a standard cryptocurrency? The file contains additional data, elevating it above plain currency and allowing it to be used for, well, anything. NFTs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They may be a piece of digital art or a music file — anything unique that can be saved digitally and considered valuable. They are similar to any other physical collector’s item, except that instead of an oil painting on canvas, you receive a JPG file.

Moreover, most investments have been made in consumer goods and media & entertainment. But as the market evolves and the associated technology becomes more scalable, we expect NFTs in various other fields like art and sports. Early 2019 saw the launch of NFTs in sports, but after an initial flurry of excitement, the market died down. Now investors still see a future — and it’ll play out over time. Let’s have a look at its possibilities.

The rise in the Sports NFTs  

People use sports NFTs as digital tokens to represent and manage ownership in a unique, digital collectible. They are non–fungible tokens that represent some level of ownership over sports’ assets, from trading cards to tickets and more. Each token reflects a real-world asset and is recorded using the blockchain. These are becoming increasingly popular. How? Let’s see

• Investment:

They are just one of many ways investors can get into the game of NFT sports. That’s either through buying tokens from an exchange or investing directly in a sports team. Also, MLB (Major League Baseball) teams are always looking for new sponsors. Because tokens are transferable, they are appealing to new investors just as much as traditional investments. The difference is that tokens are used in games to power the gaming experience and interact with the technology that players rely on every day.

• Instant Tokenization:

Sports is one of the first platforms to allow creators to instantly tokenize their digital assets and build virtual products. Sports Crypto Collectibles enables gamers to own and trade unique pieces of their favorite video game.

• Premium:

These NFTs are extremely costly. It might cost anything from $1,000 to $16 million, and some NFTs have been sold for as much as $16 million. When NFTs are so expensive, it becomes extremely impossible for the common man, regular guy, or average person to purchase them. 

There is a growing trend of tokenizing NFTs. So, instead of having one residence, you can break it into smaller rooms and sell individual rooms. You can apply this to celebrities as well. Say, if a sportsperson creates a video for their fans, you might own a section of the film rather than the complete video. So, even if you only have $100 and wish to put it to good use, you may still own a piece of the larger pie, before impossible.

People are already grabbing the opportunity 

NFTs have become more popular as collectibles. This happened since Christie’s sold a piece by digital artist Mike Winkelman. Popularly known as Beeple, it accounts for a world record US$69 million.

• Popularity: Sports NFTs can be in the form of digital trading cards, signed sports memorabilia, or video clips. Winkelman is a co-founder of a company that sells NFTs. These NFTs are with sporting memorabilia, starting with Andy Murray’s triumph at Wimbledon in 2013.
• Celebrity endorsements: This spring, Brady, a 43-year-old football legend, co-founded Autograph. Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter, Naomi Osaka, and Tony Hawk will join the Autograph advisory board. They have also signed exclusive NFT arrangements with the brand. They’ll represent sports ranging from golf to tennis, ice hockey to skateboarding.
• Partnerships: Autograph has partnered with Lionsgate, a prominent motion picture and television studio. It has also partnered with DraftKings, a digital sports entertainment and gaming company. Lionsgate will supply Autograph with unique access to NFTs from a variety of notable film and television franchises. These include John Wick and The Hunger Games. DraftKings will host Autograph’s sports NFTs as well.

In a statement, DraftKings co-founder and president Matt Kalish said,

 “The NFT boom has transformed the collectibles business and spurred enthusiasm to early-adopting consumers worldwide—including the DraftKings community. This initial concept, which was created in collaboration with Autograph and its renowned collection of authentic digital artifacts, is an important first step as we enter the young NFT sector.”

The Golden State Warriors (sports organization) offered the first digital collection. This was to remember NBA championships and most memorable games when they released an NFT collection in April.

While announcing the auction, Warriors chief revenue officer Brandon Schneider remarked, “The digital collectibles excitement is strong.” “We envision NFTs and corporate digitization as a mainstay for engaging our fans all across the world.”

Do you want to grab the opportunity and get an NFT marketplace created? Let us know here.

Sports enthusiasts and professional athletes are actively participating in Sport NFTs

There are some significant NFTs that are considered holy grails among sports fans. In the NFT market, professional athletes have gained millions by selling their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

Other professional sportsmen enjoy the NFT market for souvenirs cherishing key occasions in their careers. Professionals ranging from Tom Brady to Steph Curry have been eager to enter the non-fungible token market. This is to increase the value of signatures, videos, social media, and other digital material.

Many more sports organizations and athletes are likely to sell their digital wares in the near future as sports NFTs. It’s difficult to say whether sales will continue on this path, how and when this trend will “normalize,” or whether NFTs is a speculative bubble.

Tip: It’s very important for fans playing in this market not to let emotions override caution and sound judgment.

NFTs have made it big time, but not everyone will benefit from this new craze

The NBA’s Top Shot sales (US$500 million) in transactions in the first three months of the year demonstrate the potential wealth. According to DappRadar, this represented a third of the entire US$1.5 billion in NFT transactions. Individual athletes are also selling NFT versions of their own branded things. For example, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes is selling signed digital artwork. Therefore, the upsides of NFTs are several, but there are some downsides as well.

• ENVIRONMENTAL- blockchain verification operations consume a lot of energy.

Of course, producing and delivering physical things has a variety of environmental consequences. According to one estimate, selling and conveying an NFT artwork has a carbon footprint of nearly 100 times the cost of selling and shipping a print version. After estimating that the purchases would use the same amount of electricity in ten seconds as his studio used in two years, Joanie Lemercier, a French digital artist, canceled the sale of six paintings and pushed others to do the same in February.

More efficient technology and more renewable energy will be required to eliminate this disadvantage of NFTs.

• SOCIAL- with individuals viewing NFTs solely as a means of profit.

There is a risk of a speculative bubble in every market when prices are rapidly growing. When the bubble breaks, the risk is that consumers will spend a lot of money on virtual products that will be virtually useless when the bubble explodes.

Traditional sports NFT collectibles like trading cards and retail investment in cryptocurrencies, showed significant and continued market expansion last year. While the value of NFTs may prove to be long-lasting, it’s probable that some of the early enthusiasm for sport NFTs was fueled by “irrational exuberance”. People have been investing more time and money online due to the COVID pandemic.

Sports NFT marketplace- a business opportunity

If you talk to any celebrity today, they want to see and know that, “well, I don’t just want to sell my NFTs; I want to make sure that my NFTs generate a long-term cash stream for me.”

And it’s something that’s gotten a lot more feasible for folks. Famous athletes can even sell NFTs and donate the earnings to charities and people in need. From every perspective, this is a win-win situation: NFT collectors and sports enthusiasts may get their hands on the objects they want, while the most vulnerable members of society can benefit significantly.

The concept behind NFTs and monetizing oneself is to see if they can cut out some of the middlemen and serve their own fan base directly. For example, one could make a video to wish their favorite fan a happy birthday, and then sell the NFT to their fan base directly. And this is possible because there are blockchain-based marketplaces where you can simply take one’s NFT, list it for sale, and anyone can buy it from them.

You can get a special Sports NFT marketplace developed exclusively for you. In this unique marketplace, users may create and trade their own sports NFTs. They can make NFTs in football, hockey, and even NBA NFTs. Click here for more information on NFT marketplaces and get one developed for yourself as well.

Wrapping up

Despite the fact that NFT is still a relatively “new” technology, it already appears to be very promising. It presents sportsmen and innovators with advantages they could never have imagined. Given that the NFT craze does not appear to be slowing down, it would be a huge mistake to pass up the opportunity to try NFTs.

Any digital collectible’s market worth is determined by the future owner’s willingness to pay for it. The competitive aspect of digital collectibles platforms is reduced by forming relationships with official athletic leagues. The hazards of copying and counterfeiting assaults are greatly reduced when digital collectibles are safeguarded using NFTs.

Exploring and combining NFTs in the sports sector has aided in the creation of digital markets. It’s where fans can connect with their favorite players outside of the game. The market of Sports NFTs is showing symptoms of progress in digital sports collectibles. There is still time for the sector to flourish without a peak in sight.