As a sports fan and collector, we’d like to introduce you to the world of collecting sports digital collectibles. We want to share a list of the best sports digital collectibles you can get your hands on and what made them so famous.
While getting physical memorabilia at sporting events is exciting, rewarding, and worthwhile, sporting leagues shift focus to digital collectibles called NFTs, also known as ‘Non-Fungible Tokens.’
We will explain how you can get them and start collecting rare sports nfts that increase value over time. It’s no secret NFTs are the future, and they are here to stay, so learning about them now will only help you navigate the blockchain environment.
Let’s start with the basics.
What Is a Digital Sports Collectible?
A digital sports collectible is a non-fungible token captured on the blockchain as a unique digital asset specific to a sports franchise, team, or player. For example, sports nfts could be audio clips, video clips, or photos of players, coaches, and fans.
Also, it’s not limited to items on the internet as it could represent tickets or other utilities such as access to exclusive events or seats within the sporting area. Additionally, these digital NFTs could include stats and historical records celebrating milestones of players, coaches, and teams.
While there’s a lot of ways sports digital collectible can be interacted by fans, the collectors themselves also could trade, buy or sell them on a dedicated marketplace.
For example, OpenSea, Wax, or Dapper Labs all provide marketplaces where you could list your collection of digital assets for sale.
Why Are Sports NFTS Desirable?
Like getting an autographed baseball or an autographed jersey, sports nfts have an enormous effect on the fan experience and passion for the game. Now, however, it’s global and widens the reach for fans to connect with other like-minded individuals.
Fans can become a part of the game in new ways, auctioning off players’ nfts when they deem them valuable and trading them when they see fit.
Minting and Utility Matter
Minted NFTs come with a specific limited number made, increasing exclusivity. So, for example, there could be only 500 basketball nfts available of that specific video clip, and if you get #1, you’ll have the rarest version of the clip out of 500. The same goes for getting #499; it may be less rare; however, at the minimum, you got one of the five hundred.
On the other hand, suppose another collector wants this specific video clip since there are only 500. In that case, you can sell it for a reasonable price, which is what happens at scale at the marketplaces available for these digital assets.
Best Sports Digital Collectibles for Sports Fans and Collectors
1. MLB Topps x Avalanche
MLB Topps has been a leader in the NFT space as they were one of the first to drop a sports NFT collection supporting all the major teams. Initially, they released series one and two on WAX’s platform to later move to their own hosted platform to Avalanche. Its focus has provided a blockchain-based version of classic Topps baseball cards for fans to trade, sell, and buy quickly.
2. NBA TopShot x Dapper Labs
NBA TopShot sport nfts capture moments across all 30 teams and 12 WNBA teams in the form of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). In addition, they offer a marketplace, individual packs, and ‘hot moments,’ including video clips of slam dunks and record-breaking scores.
Sales of NFTs exceeded $200 million during 2021 and continue to climb as the league finds more innovative ways to introduce these sport nfts to their fan base. For example, imagine getting the chance to buy a photo of your favorite basketball players like Kobie Byrant or Shaq; TopShot gives fans access to this and more.
3. NFL All Day x Dapper Labs
Football fans can’t wait for the launch of NFL All Day NFTs, and those who joined the waiting list were invited to closed beta to test the product before it goes live for everyone. The goal of the close beta is to gather feedback every week, improve the overall quality, and give fans early access to nft sports packs early.
The difference between the closed beta and when they launch fully is fans in the closed beta will only receive access to no more than 50% that will ultimately become available, additionally, first access to packs but not exclusive access to packs.
In the meantime, individual NFL players are also taking advantage of dropping NFTs where Patrick Mahomes partnered with Impossible Brief to put together a Museum of Mahomes — Impossible Brief nft sports collection.
4. Boxing DAZN NFTs x OpenSea
Boxing DAZN introduced Canelo vs. Saunders NFTs ranging from .05 ETH to 50 ETH via OpenSea. Although they also made them available for purchase at Mintable and Rarible.
Additionally, they offered multiple tiers as the following:
- Tale of the Tape: a 1-of-1 Gold Edition plus 50 Silver Editions for each fighter
- Knockout: For each fighter, Legendary 1-of-1 3D personalized gloves digitally signed by the fighter
- Prediction: Get the NFT for when you think the fight will end to unlock rewards
- Post-Fight Highlights: Two 1/1 NFTs commemorating the best moments from the fight – How it Started & How it Ended
Boxing fans can’t get enough of these NFTs, and DAZN successfully sold these, which should increase the chances of seeing more of their kind in the future.
See available NFTs on the secondary market:
DAZN – Profile | OpenSea
5. Hockey NFTs x Ethernity.io
Currently, the HNL is considering NFTs; however, individual players such as popular Alex Ovechkin partnered with Impossible Brief to bring an NFT collection to his HNL fans.
His NFT digital sports series consisted of doing an auction that ranged from $1 in ETH to $288 in ETH, making it one of the more affordable NFT collections available.
It’s exclusive to Ethernity.io and had the following breakdown:
- The Great 8 (1 of 1 available)
- Laced Up (18 available)
- Russian Sniper (38 available)
- A Taste of Victory (1 of 1 available)
As more HNL players start to take advantage of NFTs, fans will see similar auctions and utilities, such as attending exclusive events with these specific players.
List of Sports Leagues with NFTs
We’ve compiled a list of which sports have introduced nfts to their fanbase and impacted the fans’ experience when it comes to collecting digital sports collectibles.
| Sport | NFT Platform | |
| Basketball (NBA) | ‘TopShot Moments’ x Dabber Labs | |
| Baseball (MLB) | ‘MLB Topps’ x Avalanche | |
| Boxing | DAZN & Matchroom x OpenSea | |
| Football (NFL) | ‘All Day’ x Dabber Labs | |
| F1 (Racing) | ‘F1 Delta Time’ x OpenSea | |
| Soccer | Sorare x OpenSea | |
| Fighting (UFC) | Coming soon x Dabber Labs | |
| Horse Racing | Horse Racing x DeRace |
Why NFTS Are Here to Stay in the Sports World
Based on the number of sporting leagues that have already adopted nfts and the optimistic reaction fans have to collect these sports digital collectibles, it’s not going anywhere.
NFTs aren’t limited to digital cards as they expand into exclusive access to players, teams, and events. The behind-the-scenes audio and video clips also add to the fan experience. If you’re new to collecting on the blockchain, get a smart contract wallet and consider searching through these five sports marketplaces to get started.
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