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- What crypto winter? ⚽ Sorare inks multi-year deal with Premier League
What crypto winter? ⚽ Sorare inks multi-year deal with Premier League
NBA’s extended Meta partnership, Porsche deal in esports, plus more top stories
🏀 Metaproof Sports
This is Sophia from 🏀 Metaproof Sports, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing the sports industry.
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📲 By the numbers
Fantasy soccer game Sorare is the 3rd biggest NFT collection worldwide. The firm processes roughly $1M worth of transactions in a 24-hour period, CryptoSlam’s figures show. (Source)
The metaverse is deemed the future of entertainment, and sports is no exception. With estimates of it reaching $800B by 2028 and an all-time high of 400 million monthly active users, it’s clear the metaverse is here to stay. (Source)
📫 News & trends
Sorare, the $4.3B fantasy soccer game with 3 million users worldwide, has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with the Premier League that will see the world’s top soccer league license official player cards. Players of the game will be able to purchase and use official Premier League-licensed NFTs under the exclusive multi-year deal.
The news comes amid a sharp slump in NFT trading activity, facing a "crypto winter" and the challenges from the recent FTX bankruptcy. Sorare was said to be sheltered from the fallout of the crash on crypto-focused sports advertising as the firm focused on licensing of intellectual property rather than sponsorships.
There are questions around Sorare's model of income generation, relying on big-spending power users that may not be sustainable in the long term. Sorare has also come under fire over accusations that it encourages gambling, with a probe from the UK Gambling Commission as well as some enforced changes to the platform after action taken by the French National Gambling Authority.
At any rate, with the Premier League's global reach and Sorare's growing user base, this partnership is poised to bring new levels of excitement to fantasy soccer.
The NBA has extended its partnership with Meta to bring its games to the metaverse, providing fans with an immersive VR experience. Fifty-two games of the league will be available for fans to experience in VR, offering a new level of engagement with the sport. In addition, fans will also be able to purchase NBA-licensed apparel in Meta's Avatars Store.
“Meta’s immersive VR technology is opening up new opportunities for sports fans to engage and interact with their favorite NBA teams. Fans will be able to express their fandom by donning their favorite team’s gear on Avatars and enjoy more live NBA games,” said Meta director of sports media and league partnerships Rob Shaw.
NBA’s previous deals in this space include one with Dapper Labs, which launched NBA Top Shots back in 2020, an NFT video marketplace featuring moments or some of the most important plays in NBA history. The league also teamed up with Sorare in an NFT game.
Luxury automaker Porsche is joining forces with esports and lifestyle brand FaZe Clan for a multi-year partnership aimed at creating original content, esports initiatives, physical products, and web3-focused digital goods. This marks Porsche's continued involvement in the esports world, having previously engaged since 2017. The deal was brokered by UTA.
While the partnership between Porsche and FaZe Clan is expected to bring a unique and exciting opportunity for both brands, it’s worth noting that FaZe's stock has seen a dip since the restrictions on selling stock post-SPAC merger expired, causing concern for the success of the partnership in reaching the broader gaming audience. This new bold move facilitates the integration of luxury and esports, and the potential outcomes are worth watching closely.
Tennis Australia has welcomed seven early-stage sports technology firms into its incubator program called AO Startups, where the companies will receive resources and exposure to develop and commercialize their innovative technologies. The initiative of TA, which organizes the Australian Open (the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year), is part of its wider innovation program that comprises the launch of the Wildcard Ventures fund and a multi-year partnership with the Techstars accelerator.
The 2023 cohort of startups includes a diverse lineup of companies - namely Amperfii, Calyx, Cape Bionics, Equidi, Matchi, Recut, and YBVR - ranging from data specialists to cleantech firms to businesses focused on gender equality analytics. The startups have the potential to revolutionize the way tennis and sports are experienced, and TA is providing them with the resources and exposure they need to turn their innovative ideas into successful ventures.
LootMogul, a multiverse blockchain gaming platform for sports influencers and fans to engage, has named a number of sports ambassadors representing its sports metaverse platform. “Their exceptional skills and passion for sports will take our virtual arenas to new heights,” announced LootMogul on Twitter, naming football players Victor Rosa, Dorian Miles, and Mari Wingard plus basketballer Manny Duany as part of its growing roster of ambassadors.
Via LootMogul, athletes own land, studios, stadiums, and experience hubs to generate lifetime royalties by engaging with fans through Learn2Earn and Play2Earn models. Fans, on the other hand, engage with their idols to learn new skill sets, earn rewards and merchandise, and gain access to real-world VIP events. LootMogul has currently signed up over 201+ professional athletes as well as 15 sports leagues from NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and UFC.
Euroleague Basketball has teamed up with VR tech developer YBVR to transform the way fans experience live games. Starting with Real Madrid vs Barcelona on 26 January, select regular season games will now be available for viewing in virtual reality. Fans can take control of the action as though they were sitting courtside, changing cameras and viewing real-time statistical overlays whenever they like - a new level of immersion and interaction with the games they love.
A few limitations to note, though: The VR games package will not be available in France, Spain, or Italy, and US-based fans can only access it through Xtadium, YBVR's VR app. Despite these, Euroleague Basketball and YBVR's collaboration is a major step forward in the future of game viewing and a must-see experience for fans of the sport. Get ready to take control of the action and experience live games like never before!
The International Boxing Association (IBA) is making a big move into the digital world with the launch of its Global Boxing House Metaverse, a VR platform that includes VR boxing, training, NFTs, "fantokens," VR fight arenas, and its own cryptocurrency. The platform is said to utilize the latest technology in live streaming from bouts and championships, ticket sales, and betting. The new move, aimed at appealing to a younger audience, is set to offer an immersive experience that brings fans closer to the action and creates forays into engagement.
The IBA's recent ambitions have been met with some challenges, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warning that boxing, which has already been left off the initial program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, could also be removed from Paris 2024. The body, which suspended IBA in 2019, is currently due to oversee the boxing tournament in the French capital having also organized the event at the re-arranged 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 2021.
MILC Platform and MLG Racing Club are joining forces to create an all-female racing team with the goal of promoting gender equality in the racing arena. The partnership is set to make use of the NFT funding model, with the first NFT being the LMG GT No1, a car design adopted from the 1971 Porsche 917/20 Le Mans racer, better known as the Pink Pig.
MILC Platform provides a blockchain-oriented multimedia marketplace for professional content providers to trade licenses in movies, television, streaming, online publishing, gaming, music, and art. The partnership is seen as a refreshing move toward promoting diversity and inclusion in racing, and its impact will be worth watching closely.
The Knights of Degen (KOD) project has been making waves in the web3 and sports entertainment communities. With a focus on creating a community-led ecosystem, KOD has identified a gap in the market where sports and gaming intersect with web3.
At the heart of the KOD ecosystem is the Knights of Degen mobile app, which serves as the home base for members of the community. Here, users can participate in Degen Fantasy, a feature that allows them to join and create their own fantasy leagues within the ecosystem. This unique combination of sports and web3 has drawn the attention of many, and KOD is quickly becoming a household name in the NFT community.
The world of sports is on the cusp of a major shift, with immersive technologies set to revolutionize the way fans interact with their favorite teams and players. At the forefront of this shift is the metaverse, a virtual reality network that provides an immersive and interactive experience for fans. The metaverse enables fans to interact with their favorite teams and players in new and exciting ways, creating an unprecedented level of engagement and connection.
Web3 technology is another key player in this shift, enabling decentralized and secure online interactions and transactions. This opens up new revenue streams for sports leagues and teams, providing a way for them to monetize the metaverse and reach new audiences.
The avatar, our digital self in the metaverse, is a powerful tool for engagement, expression, and connection. With the ability to customize our avatar and participate in virtual events, the metaverse creates a new level of immersion and interaction that was previously not possible.
The world of sports and NFTs have collided to create a new industry: sports NFTs. But what exactly are NFTs and how can they be used in the world of sports?
NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that live on cryptocurrency blockchains. They are unique digital assets that can be used to represent anything, including collectibles, artwork, and in this case, sports memorabilia. Sports NFTs can be used to represent a specific sports team, athlete, or event, and are becoming increasingly popular as fans look for new and innovative ways to engage with their idols.
One way to get involved in the sports NFT industry is through staking tokens. Staking tokens are used to earn rewards such as discounts or exclusive access to certain events. However, it's important to note that NFTs have no set value and are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them, making staking tokens a rather risky affair. Before getting involved in the sports NFT industry, it's important to research and understand the potential risks and rewards involved.
In a world where virtual reality is becoming more and more popular, the metaverse has been steadily gaining traction. The metaverse is a technological paradigm that is estimated to be worth $3 trillion by the decade’s end.
Raramuri is a sports app that brings running events to the metaverse. It co-hosted the world’s first digital marathon and accrued 35,860 app downloads, currently maintaining 60 running clubs and traffic from 2,900 daily users. Raramuri can simulate running in a completely digitized, 3D environment while connecting athletes globally with each other in real time and thus providing a full suite of immersive training experiences. Its features include Live Track and a payment gateway integration to process donations, enabling cash donations and event ticket and merchandise sales with the touch of a button.
💸 Finance buzz
Sportz, a provider of an integrated sports management and engagement SaaS platform, unveiled new features and capabilities as part of the January 2023 release. Its iSportz platform caters to stakeholders including governing bodies, associations, clubs, teams, major & minor leagues, coaches, volunteers, athletes, and fans, and is aimed at a range of key use cases such as club & team management, community engagement, and merchandise & ecommerce. (Source)
Sports betting marketplace BetOpenly partners with web3 rewards company Scrimmage to provide low-cost betting and cash back on every bet. Users of BetOpenly, which pairs bettors with one another, will now be able to earn SCRIM tokens for their bets, which can be converted into fiat currency on the Scrimmage Rewards app. (Source)
Video game advertising and monetization specialist Bidstack launched a dedicated sports division that will focus on sponsorship models for virtual environments. (Source)
🗣️ Quote of the week
“Certainly, we’re aware and excited about the appeal of the metaverse to younger fans who have a headset and use that as their entry into this world … Do they want the new angles of a dedicated VR production, or is it the interaction and ability to meet up with their friends living somewhere else and watching a game standing next to them?
I see this as an evolution of the fan experience. If you lived in Paris and wanted to get together with fans of your favorite team, you would search to find the best bar to watch the game. This is the next step: you can meet up with like-minded fans and watch the game with people who have the same interest and love of the game.”
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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.
If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.
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