We are back The Sports Slice to take a bite out of all things sports and crypto. Some of the latest headlines from the past week include the upcoming launch of LaLiga’s new NFT platform, a college quarterback’s new NFT NIL deal, and an unexpectedly cut crypto jersey patch deal.
Let’s dive into all the crypto and sports activity of the past week.
The Sports Slice
New Zealand Rugby buys World Of Women Galaxy NFT
New Zealand rugby’s commercial arm and national team representative New Zealand Rugby made a major purchase of 33 World Of Women Galaxy NFTs last week; the move is the team’s first NFT purchase, courtesy of some assistance with MoonPay, which is not an official declared partner of the team.
Fans on the team’s official Reddit network weren’t thrilled.
The first download of the LaLiga digital collection platform is scheduled for the end of this month
‘LaLiga Golazos’, the highly anticipated NFT product courtesy of Dapper Labs and the powerhouse soccer league, will be released in the coming weeks. Set to launch on October 27th (along with its first initial drop), it will feature some of the league’s biggest moments since 2005. The platform is expected to mirror the experience seen in other products from Dapper, Top Shot and NFL All Day.
NIL million dollar offer from a college quarterback
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is nearing $4 million in NIL deals, courtesy of a new $1 million NIL NIL deal inked last week with Metabilia. More than half of US states have established some sort of formalized NIL policy as universities look for new avenues to recruit athletes and athletes look for new avenues for compensation.
Ewers and Metabilia will launch a collaborative NFT project that will require a subscription fee to access signed drops and memorabilia. The NIL territory is still very young for new platforms and projects to explore, and crypto and web3 companies have not shied away so far.
Dapper Labs (FLOW) is set to release it's latest product courtesy of a league-wide deal with European soccer monster, LaLiga. | Source: FLOW-USD on TradingView.com
Athlete-Backed, Avalanche-Powered ‘MynaSwap’ Raises $6 Million
NFL stars including Kyler Murray and Odell Beckham Jr. were part of a recent fundraiser for Avalanche’s blockchain-based sneaker trading platform, MynaSwap. The proceeds, totaling $6 million, will go toward building the digital collectibles platform that provides digital authentication for physical goods. The platform is founded by Adeel Shams, co-founder of sneaker store Coolkicks (which has become an LA staple in the sneakerhead community).
Crypto.com has reportedly turned down the dial on sports associations
Crypto.com is reportedly reducing sports sponsorship commitments as the exchange likely faces greater budget constraints in the bear market. While the exact scope is unknown, reports surfaced in recent days that Crypto.com was looking to narrow the reach with sports partners like the World Cup and Twitch Rivals. The exchange was once a leading force in sports sponsorships and is now likely to see a major shift in spending as the bear market has persisted throughout this year.
MoonPay’s first foray into sports
A name we have not mentioned in the Cut downThe story of MoonPay is MoonPay. Check that box this week as the crypto exchange has secured its first sports deal with Brazilian soccer club Flamengo. The two will look to MoonPay to lead the charge in a variety of NFT engagements including ticketing, loyalty programs and more.
Trail Blazers Cut StormX Shirt Patch Deal
The NBA’s first crypto jersey patch deal was established in the middle of last year, and despite being a multi-year deal that was established between the Portland Trail Blazers and the young StormX platform, it is coming to an end quiet and unexpected. StormX has greatly underperformed the broader crypto market, and despite signing an athlete endorsement deal with former Blazer CJ McCollum in November, the exchange is rarely mentioned when talking about major exchanges of cryptography. The club’s reasoning behind cutting the pair, whose shirt patch appeared in media day content in recent weeks, was not revealed.
We’ll see where Portland goes for a patch deal, having put in a BioFreeze patch before the StormX deal. The Blazers join the Grizzlies and Wizards among the clubs currently looking for a jersey patch partner.
Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com
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