Crypto Corner: The Sports Slice

Following Dapper Labs’ collaboration with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams last week, the leading digital sports memorabilia platform stepped in this week with the official launch of its NFL All Day product, which was in a limited open beta prior to this week.

Meanwhile, one once-dominant football club looks down on disappointment, while another joins forces with a “walk to earn” platform. There are often high highs and low lows, and this week has been no exception. Let’s review the entire past week of activity in all things sports and crypto.

The sports disc

Premier League: Manchester United’s drama on and off the pitch, Aston Villa’s new partner

Between a brutal 4-0 loss to Brentford last weekend and the steady flow of club sale rumours, there is never a dull moment for Man U. This week the drama heightened with Elon Musk briefly saying he was buying the club, leading to a share price (and even a fake sports fan token) up in price.

Meanwhile in the Premier League, Aston Villa have found a new partner with cryptocurrency gaming platform Duelbits. The EPL has largely limited crypto partners up front (or at least probably discouraged them), but crypto deals have continued to be present in the league. Clubs are set to vote on a potential ban on front-of-the-shirt partners later this year; for Aston Villa, this latest deal securing the platform as the club’s “Official European Betting Partner.” EPL clubs have been particularly active in the crypto space, arguably more so than most leagues in major sports, but many have faced uphill challenges from failing projects or reputational concerns – some of which have led to dissolved deals.

Atletico de Madrid and WhaleFin join forces with STEPN

Soccer club Atletico de Madrid is hot on the heels of its new crypto deal with crypto trading platform WhaleFin and is not hitting the brakes with a project to kick it off. The duo are linking up with Solana-based sneaker platform STEPN, for an NFT collection that will consist of 1,001 digitally hand-drawn Atletico de Madrid sneakers. Signed jerseys and NFT airdrops are expected to be in the mix.

NFL all day goes all out

Will NFL All Day follow in the footsteps of fellow Dapper Labs product NBA Top Shot? This past week signaled a major milestone for Dapper Labs’ platform, as NFL All Day released its first public package this week after a period of limited but widespread beta access. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the bulk of the marketing with a featured piece of content. The QB is expected to be the “face” of the entire day for the upcoming season.

NFL All Day will try to take lessons from NBA Top Shot, which remains the flagship NFT project for the NBA, but one that has seen tepid engagement compared to the early surge in 2021.

It's been a volatile ride for Dapper Lab's FLOW token, which has seen brief highs nearing $4.00 but currently sits just north of $2.00. | Source: FLOW-USD on TradingView.com

Socios secures Italian regulatory approval

Fan tokens in sports have been a difficult landscape to maneuver through, with regulations around the world proving to be a major obstacle at the moment. Fan token leader Socios found some silver linings in cloudy days, as the platform secured regulatory approval in Italy last week. Socios have a number of different Italian football partners and have certainly taken the “better to ask for forgiveness” approach and penetrated targeted markets (even with limited scope, where limited) and simply tried to have a presence to establish themselves. We’ll see if it works for Socios, and fan tokens in general.

Sports & NIL: BYU and Ocavu

Last week it was USC, this week it’s BYU, as West Coast American collegiate institutions grow in number with NIL mentions. Utah-based Brigham Young University is in the midst of what is expected to be a roughly $20 million deal with NFT marketplace Ocavu, which is less than a week old and expected to have an “NBA Top Shot”-like approach, highlighting top games and performances from BYU athletes.

NIL deals continue to be a mainstay of conversation when it comes to crypto and sports – the two have entered the atmosphere at similar times and both often pose to challenge the status quo in their respective respects.

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.