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- Deals could be worth up to US$589m over four years
- Dapper Labs also has video NFT rights to NBA and NFL
- Confirmation could arrive in the summer
The Premier League is poised to announce its official non-fungible token (NFT) partners in agreements that could be worth more than UK£434 million (US$589 million) over four years.
English soccer’s top flight is the latest major sports organisation to explore a potentially lucrative new revenue stream, with reports last month suggesting that it had whittled down its shortlist to four candidates.
According to The Athletic, clubs have already approved an arrangement where ConsenSys gains the rights to mint NFTs based on still images, while a deal for Dapper Labs to acquire the video rights is also being considered. Candy Digital, which has a NFT partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), and Sorare are the two firms to have missed out.
Once the fine print has been settled, the deals could reportedly be announced in the summer.
It is thought that the Premier League’s interest in the NFT space is on products that engage fans and have mass market appeal rather than high-end tokens that might be acquired by speculators as high value assets.
This, it is hoped, will insulate the league from criticism applied to other NFT-based ventures that are viewed as exploitative or risky.
The still image NFTs can be considered analogous to trading cards or stickers made by Panini, while Dapper Labs has created one of the most successful NFT platforms to date in NBA Top Shot, and also has a deal with the National Football League (NFL).
The Premier League’s global appeal, coupled with the growth of the NFT market, means even the lowest estimate of UK£220 million (US$298 million) for its NFT contract would dwarf the reported UK£15 million (US$20.3 million) a year deals held by the NFL and National Basketball Association (NBA).
