The American football league (NFL) has always been known as an odd pick. It generates billions of dollars each season and the NFL Final is said to be the most expensive event in sports history, with ad costs reaching $6.5 million per 30 seconds of the broadcast. Tens of millions watch every single game and 100s of millions are waiting for the NFL Finals.
That’s how big it is. But what do cryptocurrency and NFTs have in common? We’ll find out in this article.
What is NFT?
Many people used to buy Bitcoin, which was considered the most traditional way to invest in cryptocurrency. However, times have changed. People want to see something in return. And this is how the blockchain gave non-fungible tokens life. Non-fungible what? Let’s explain NFTs.
Non-fungible tokens are a completely different entity than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether, with their own set of pros and cons. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are digital assets stored on a blockchain — they record the ownership of a specific item, as well as its activity throughout its lifetime. With an NFT, you can prove that your car is special and never been seen before, or that your house is unique and only yours. Where fungible tokens are hard to distinguish between units, for example one Bitcoin versus another, non-fungible tokens are so unique that each instance of them is a separate data point.
What is the common thing about NFL and NFT?
Apart from the name similarity (2/3 isn’t bad, right?), there are many other common things between non-fungible tokens and the American football league.
But the most common thing about both is money. Lots of money. Whether we talk about one or the other, there are billions of dollars involved.
NFT stickers and cards
Just like painting is a professional job, so are NFT illustrations. There are many different types of NFL collectibles out there, but The National Football League Collectible Card is the first on-demand trading card program. Using blockchain technology, The National Football League Collectible Card will allow you to experience the real game-card lifestyle where you can easily track your cards, create and join trades with other players globally, receive rewards directly from games and more.
But it’s not the first time the NFT world conquers a mainstream sport. Top Shot has become a worldwide hit and Derrick Rose’s layup has become the most expensive Top Shot NFT, as $1 million was paid for the access.
But things get further than that. As Coindesk quotes, ‘NFL draft goes NFT.’ It’s quite interesting, as the NFL Draft definitely brings a lot of attention, as it promotes the top talent that will become professionals within a couple of weeks.
NFT games
NFT games are quite popular. As a standard, people buy characters to play games and by staking their tokens they earn different rewards, most notably cryptocurrency. What might surprise you, though, is that the American football league has actually licensed a mobile game that is played with NFTs. The partners are Mythical Games and the interface is simple — people who purchase the game can create a roster of their favorite players, with the only condition that the latter should be acquired via the purchase of NFT collectibles.
To make things even spicier, if you purchase NFTs that are rare, you might have access to exclusive rewards, special events, and other goodies. This creates an amazing fan engagement, as people would feel like they are on the verge of meeting their idols!
NFL and blockchain sponsorships
The NFL isn’t known for being on the cutting edge of anything, but it did just allow a little bit of forward progress. The league gave teams permission to accept sponsorships from blockchain companies (according to CNBC), which is groundbreaking considering how strict they are with companies that work outside the traditional financial system. This was another step forward in building a solid foundation.
Cryptocurrency salaries
More and more people are accepting cryptocurrency salaries, as they can inflate in time, and provide a good side income. Of course, not everyone is willing to take a firm step, and 2021 was not considered a great year. However, these were the risks that many players like Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, and others were already aware of.
Summary
NFL teams seem to have realized what blockchain technology can do for them: it can give fans a chance to truly step into their heroes’ shoes, while being able to interact with the team and watch live games. Through these features, NFTs are also giving teams extra revenue and raising the incomes of players. All in all, this is a great move for both the NFL community and its fans!
