Bundesliga, Germany’s top-flight football league, has joined the increasing list of professional leagues that are utilizing nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Bundesliga International, the company’s commercial branch, has established a two-year agreement with Sorare, a football-focused NFT platform, and Topps, a sports collectibles company.
Bundesliga and Sorare team up
Sorare has been on a bullish run in recent months, with its business agreements positioned to make it the number one NFT platform for football. Its strategic investors include world-class players such as Antoine Griemann and Gerard Pique.
A five-a-side fantasy football game is available on the site, which earned $650 million in a Series B fundraising round sponsored by SoftBank.
It’s based on the Ethereum blockchain, and participants may put together a squad by purchasing digital football trade cards.
These digital cards are ERC 721 NFTs that may be confirmed publicly on the Ethereum network.
After an intensive 18-month investigation and analysis of the NFT market, Bundesliga International has partnered with Sorare.
Its decision to go with a short-term arrangement will allow it to keep a closer eye on the market as it develops.
Robert Klein, the chief executive officer of the Bundesliga, stated this during the Sports Business NFT Webinar.
Digital player cards
Because of its collaboration with Sorare, the site will be able to offer digital cards of players from the Bundesliga.
Klein believes that by the time the two-year deal expires, more information will be available, and the league will be able to determine the optimal commercial strategy.
Bundesliga recently upgraded their existing physical collectibles arrangement with Topps to include digital trading cards, in addition to signing a new deal with Sorare.
Topps, which has already made a name for itself in the traditional sports collectibles market, has entered the NFTs with digital cards of players and highlights that will be released throughout the season.
This isn’t the first time the NFT space has collaborated with the sporting world. FC Barcelona recently announced a relationship with an NFT marketplace, however, the agreement was eventually canceled.
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