There is no doubt that NFTs have taken the world by storm in the last couple of years, they have been huge in the art scene, revolutionizing digital art, music, and video. But one of the other fields that have become big and is growing all the time is sports and particularly NFT sports memorabilia. Of course, before NFT, sports memorabilia were already big and sport, in general, has a huge global following, particularly in the demographics that are the more technology savvy. So, it’s not surprising that more and more sports professionals and teams are joining the increasing number that have now used NFT sports memorabilia to monetize their brand. From the point of view of an investor, collector, or trader it would appear that NFT sports memorabilia is likely to be a good investment because we already know that sports memorabilia have performed very well over the years and in investment. Now, this is just a new technology iteration of the same thing. NFT gives the ability to monetize many things that were not previously monetizable and it also gives the ability to make images and video, which previously could be copied infinitely, now can be made rare and in fact, a single video of a sporting event can be made into a one-of-a-kind digitally tradable asset. This blend of new technology and known asset class give it some predictability in how it will perform, not totally predictable of course but most logic suggests that this trend is ongoing and only growing.
When did sports memorabilia become digital?
The NFT market is now worth $2.5 billion and growing and one of the first sports adopters was the NBA Top Shot platform which has so far produced $280 million in sales. Baseball collectible cards had been around for years but now with NFT sports memorabilia, it is possible to buy a unique one-off video clip of a great sporting moment of a player that you like. Sorare is one of the other early adopters and between them and NBA they have raised more than $1 billion in funding. Sorare is a fantasy football platform that offers tradeable player NFTs that so far have traded $200 million in playing cards. It has partnered with over 180 football clubs worldwide to offer its brand.
Sports athletes are getting in on the act
Individual athletes from every sport are also launching their own personal brands on NFT sports memorabilia such as Argentine footballer Lionel Messi who generated around $3.2 million in sales of his Messiverse NFT collection. John Kirwan who was on the All-Blacks rugby team created a series of artworks after sitting down to write his autobiography and realizing he did not own the rights to many of his own famous sporting moments. Dan Carter the rugby star has also launched a collection of NFT sports memorabilia. Also, Daniel Vettori of the New Zealand cricket team is launching a range of NFT sports memorabilia. NBA stars LeBron James and Zion Williamson offered their collection which sold for more than $100,000 for each star. They featured videos of key moments in their sporting careers. There are many other athletes that are getting in on the act and releasing their own NFT sports memorabilia.
Why is it getting more popular by the day?
NFT transactions quadruples in 2020 to $250 million partly because of the stay-at-home restrictions of COVID-19. But even after that ended NFT and NFT sports memorabilia has continued to grow. The large number of people spending their time online has continued grow, with the majority of the population spending 50% of their time online. So, it is no wonder that new technology like NFT that links the digital world with the real world and creates digital tangible assets is taking off. And, as we race headlong toward the metaverse this acceleration will likely increase even more. Already we see games and game worlds that are focused on sports that allow players to buy NFT players, equipment, and even animals for example in horse racing. These virtual upgrades appear to offer almost limitless opportunities for players, clubs, and brand owners, as well as for collectors, investors, and traders. As technology is so new, we should expect to see enormous developments in technology and innovation over the coming years as this is only the beginning.
Where to get exclusive NFT sports memorabilia?
There is a growing selection of platforms where you can buy NFT sports memorabilia but below are some of the early adopters to get you started.
Singularifty
Nexthash’s own NFT platform specializing in NFT sports memorabilia on the Ethereum blockchain.
OpenSea
One of the largest NFT trading platforms, it has all categories of NFT but also has a large selection of NFT sport memorabilia on multiple blockchains.
NBA Topshot
NBA basketball video moments and other NFT sports memorabilia trading platforms.
NFL All Day
A partnership between Dapper Labs and the National Football League.
Sorare
Is a fantasy football (soccer) league platform with NFT players, upgrades, and NFT sports memorabilia.
UFC
NFT Ultimate Fighting Championship marketplace for video, audio, and collectibles.
Singularifty is the one-stop-shop for sports collectors
Singularifty by NextHash represents one of the best places to get started collecting and investing in NFT sports memorabilia. With its low transaction fees and secure reliable trading platform. NextHash also offers a range of other crypto trading services that complement the Singularifty exchange. If you need to order large amounts of crypto for a large trade, consider using our OTC trading desk to lock in your best price and avoid the need to spread your order across multiple platforms. For smaller orders please use NextInter our own exchange.
Sign up today or if you have any questions get in contact and one of the teams at NextHash will be happy to help.