NFL Lobbied SEC on Crypto Issues

Whatever the NFL’s plans are for cryptocurrencies, they would apparently benefit from government intervention.

The NFL lobbied the Securities and Exchange Commission on “issues related to blockchain technology,” which could include cryptocurrencies and NFTs, in the second half of last year. The SEC is currently figuring out how it will regulate cryptocurrencies.

• The league spent over $600,000 lobbying both houses of Congress, and various federal agencies, including the SEC.
• The NFL also lobbied the White House, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Commerce on a range of issues including sports betting.

The league is reportedly seeking to determine if cryptocurrency can become a key part of the NFL’s business.

Crypto Accepted

After initially barring teams from crypto- and NFT-related sponsorships, the NFL struck a partnership with NBA Top Shot producer Dapper Labs that saw both the league and its players association take a stake in the NFT company.

The New York Giants struck a partnership with crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments in May 2021, which the league approved even though the crypto company ban was still in place.

Crypto companies, including Coinbase, FTX, and Crypto.com, spent heavily on Super Bowl ads. The sudden increase in traffic to Coinbase briefly caused its site to crash.