Digital collectibles have taken the sports memorabilia scene by storm, and caught the NFL’s attention.
“We’ve taken a hard look about that market and where we intend to play in the future. The digital video [memorabilia] like Top Shot is interesting,” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told Yahoo Sports.
Top Shot, a digital marketplace where NBA highlights or “moments” are bought, sold, and traded in the same fashion as trading cards has become a growing revenue stream for the league.
“NFTs in general, of which Top Shot is the first and a leader, could turn into a top three revenue source for the NBA over the next 10 years,” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told USA Today Sports.
Last week, a LeBron James dunk highlight sold for $208,000. In the past 30 days, Top Shot has seen over $260 million funneled through its marketplaces, according to CryptoSlam.
Sorare, a soccer-based digital collectible firm, raised $50 million during a Series A funding round. Topps, a leading trading card manufacturer, is starting to tap into the industry as well — job posts state that the company is looking to add designers to create digital collectibles.
With Top Shot and Sorare establishing a foundation and Topps potentially entering the market, the NFL, America’s most-watched league, probably won’t be left out for long.
