DraftKings, NFLPA to Produce Gamified NFTs

DraftKings and the NFL Players Association are linking up on a nascent market: gamified NFTs.

The betting company and NFLPA licensing partner OneTeam Partners announced on Tuesday that they will release products on DraftKings Marketplace during the 2022-2023 NFL season.

The two sides anticipate producing NFTs that can be bought and sold, as well as used in games within the DraftKings platform. The NFTs will be backed by Polygon, blockchain software built on top of Ethereum.

The partnership is the latest embrace of crypto and blockchain products by the NFL after initially shunning the industry.

• In September, the league barred its teams from selling ads or sponsorships to crypto coins, markets, and other blockchain-related products, including NFTs.
• Later that month, the league and the NFLPA announced a deal to release NFTs with NBA Top Shot-maker Dapper Labs.
• In April, the league unveiled its first sports betting partnerships with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Entertainment. In August, it added FOX Bet, NetMGM, PointsBet, and WynnBET.

While gamified NFTs are still fairly new in the U.S., Sorare has established a presence in European soccer. In September, the European soccer-focused company raised $680 million in one of Europe’s largest-ever Series B rounds, led by SoftBank, at a valuation of $4.3 billion.

DraftKings’ revenue grew 60% year-over-year in the third quarter to $213 million.