Sports NFTs offer loyal fans an exciting new way to support their favorite teams, and through the release of digital collectibles, teams can benefit from new revenue streams.

In addition to participating in live sporting events, fans can also interact directly with players in virtual environments, such as meeting in the Metaverse or participating in Q&A events.

Over the past few years, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have achieved steady growth, disrupting industries as diverse as art, gaming, music, and sports. Billions of sports fans around the world have been introduced to many NFT use cases. How exactly are these digital tokens changing the sports world?

How are NFTs affecting the sports world

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What is a sports NFT?

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that run on a blockchain and are often referred to as cryptocurrency collectibles. Each NFT is a unique asset that can be fully digital or represent a tokenized version of a real-world item.

Sports NFTs are one of the newest use cases for NFTs. They give fans a whole new way to support and interact with their favorite teams. You can think of sports NFTs as traditional basketball or football player trading cards. Using blockchain technology, these physical cards are converted into a variety of NFTs that sports fans can collect—souvenirs, GIFs, video highlights, game badges, and more. Additionally, they can also be traded on NFT marketplaces, including the Binance NFT marketplace.

Some sports NFTs can also be used as a form of fan club membership, providing holders with exclusive benefits, such as participation in player meetups.

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How can NFTs enhance the fan experience in sports?

In recent years, NFTs have attracted a lot of attention in the sports world. A Deloitte report predicts that in 2022, the amount generated by sports NFTs may exceed $2 billion.

Sports NFTs offer avid fans new ways to support and interact with their favorite teams. As NFTs mature, sports NFTs have more practical applications that will change the industry in exciting ways. Loyal fans can express their enthusiasm by holding sports NFTs, and sports clubs and their players can provide long-term value to fans through the growing utility of NFTs.

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Digital collectibles

Sports collectibles are a new way for fans to collect player cards and even video highlights from games. One of the hottest series is NBA Top Shot, a basketball collectibles platform that uses blockchain technology to digitize traditional sports trading cards. This NFT marketplace enables fans to trade video clips of legendary NBA game highlights. For example, in an April 2021 auction, a video clip of LeBron James imitating the famous Kobe Bryant dunk sold for nearly $400,000.

Virtual access token

In addition to digital collectibles, NFTs can be integrated into live sports events as virtual access tokens. For example, fans willing to pay for NFT tickets can unlock VIP video from player cameras in stadiums, or listen to behind-the-scenes conversations between teams and coaches. Fans can even interact directly with different players and supporters in the Metaverse, or use NFTs to sponsor their favorite players. NFT tickets can also allow overseas fans who are unable to attend the game to participate in this unique viewing experience.

In addition to NFTs, some teams will issue fan tokens to provide holders with exclusive club benefits, including player autographs and limited-edition jerseys, as well as exclusive discounts on game tickets. For example, in 2021, Porto teamed up with Binance Fan Token to issue Fan Tokens and Utility NFTs.

Game

In some cases, NFTs can be used in online sports games, such as “Fantasy Head Coach”. Sorare, for example, is a popular fantasy football game that incorporates NFTs into its gameplay. It has partnered with world-class football clubs such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to present players in the form of NFT cards. Fans can buy, collect and trade these player cards to manage virtual teams and participate in games. NFT cards will earn or lose additional points based on the performance of the corresponding football player in the real game.

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How can NFTs benefit the sports world?

Through NFTs, fans can have their favorite player cards and even video clips of the game, which subverts the concept of sports memorabilia. They provide sports clubs and teams with the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with fans.

NFTs have also changed the way teams interact with fans, with teams increasing fan engagement by offering exclusive membership privileges and sometimes even mechanisms to participate in important governance decisions.

Player personal brand

Individual players can issue their own series of NFTs to appeal to the fan base. Similar to trading cards, player NFTs create connections between players and their loyal fans. For example, fans can enjoy memorabilia from their favorite players and show off in social media.

Additionally, players can issue NFTs themselves to maintain intellectual property. As the creators of NFTs, they can get royalties by resale of NFTs, which is a reasonable retreat and source of wealth after retirement.

A new source of income for the team

Issuing NFTs can also provide teams with an additional revenue stream. Traditionally, sports organizations have primarily generated revenue from ticket and merchandise sales, media rights and sponsorships. Through NFTs, teams can choose to tokenize event tickets, broadcast live events to token holders in real-time, or organize holder-only events in the Metaverse, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Conclusion

The use of NFTs in the sports world has been expanding recently, and this trend is likely to continue. Digital assets introduce new ways for teams to connect with loyal fans and unlock new revenue streams. While fans still love to own, trade, and wear unique badges, NFT sports use cases today extend far beyond digital collectibles.