Use cases of tokens in sport 

Introduction

The success of tokens and in particular NFTs in recent years has spanned many areas, e.g. art, fashion, gaming. For each area a variety of use cases have been identified. One area where tokens have been present in various forms for some time now is sport. 

Both traditional sports, e-sports and the so-called fantasy sports.

A further link between the crypto world and sports companies is the strong presence of crypto companies as team sponsors in various sports.

The first use case: digital collector’s items

The first significant use of tokens in sport involved basketball with the NBA Top Shot marketplace. It ushered in a new era of basketball-related digital collectibles in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform is the best known, but today there are thousands of sports NFTs that can be bought and sold on platforms such as OpenSea, a secondary marketplace for digital assets.

On NBA Top Shot, sports fans can buy, sell and trade basketball video clips. This marketplace combines an experience similar to traditional sports trading card collecting with blockchain technology.

Launched in 2020, NBA Top Shot is a partnership between the NBA and Dapper Labs, the creators of CryptoKitties. High-profile investors include NBA legends Michael Jordan, Kevin Durrant and Klay Thompson.

By September 2021, NBA Top Shot already had more than 1 million registered users.

Fantasy sports

Another successful use case joins sports and gaming: fantasy sports. Fantasy sports are games in which participants can create virtual sports teams, choosing from a pool of real professional athletes. Once the team has been created, participants compete against each other, earning points depending on the performance of the chosen athletes during real sporting events. 

Fantasy sports can be played on virtually any real sport, be it team or individual. The most successful blockchain platform in this field is Sorare.

Sorare operates a service for issuing and exchanging digital collectible cards on the blockchain. As part of this activity, it runs a promotional game for its users that consists of a virtual tournament that takes into account the real performance of players on the field.

The aim of the game is to create the best team of five collectibles representing professional football players.

Tickets as tokens

Many teams have already started thinking about how tickets can become digital tokens, providing ticket holders – especially season ticket holders – with access to special content in the real world or in the stadium experience. 

Season ticket NFTs can be a de facto verified pass for any special content the club may offer. They could include special areas of the facility, discounts at the kiosks or other traditional season ticket benefits, with full confidence in their authenticity.

In the future, subscribers will probably receive special edition collector’s NFTs for the matches they attend. Within a few years, subscribers themselves will expect these to be an integral part of their membership.

For sponsors, tokenisation is also an opportunity; it is a great way to offer exclusive products or services to subscribers automatically and securely, creating a strong bond with the subscriber base.

Tokens for virtual worlds

The combination of the metaverse with fungible and non-fungible tokens allows for a whole new market for even more fans. Virtual access tokens can enable new forms of social experiences and opportunities to engage with teams, athletes and other fans within a metaverse. Access to athletes is key to reaching the next generation of fans, and while social media allows some access, the metaverse can greatly expand opportunities.

These tokens may have implications both inside and outside matches. Inside matches, they could enable a different viewing experience for fans willing to pay more but unable to attend matches in person. A limited number of token holders could receive access to unique video content, such as player cameras, bench cameras or even access to the dressing room. In essence, this is a new version of season tickets. Fans could interact with players during the game in a virtual environment, or with other fans in virtual worlds. 

We can therefore expect that in addition to the season ticket to go to the stadium, the season ticket to watch matches on TV, there will also be a season ticket to the metaverse of the team or league.

Conclusions

Technology is radically changing the way fans interact with their favourite teams. There are already various ways to stay in touch with teams and athletes. 

Consequently, digital resources represent a significant revenue opportunity for sports organisations. Traditionally, ticket sales, media rights and sponsorship constitute the three largest revenue streams for teams and leagues. All three could see significant growth through tokenized tickets, NFT media rights and sponsorship of events online or in the metaverse. 

It is conceivable that in the coming years, the sale of digital assets will become one of the largest revenue streams for many teams and leagues.

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