Blockchain technology has proven its application in different industries, and the sports world is not an exception to this trend. Athletes and sports brands have taken advantage of this novel technology with several football clubs sponsored by crypto companies and accepting crypto as payment for tickets, jerseys, and more.
However, one aspect of blockchain technology that has gained the most traction in the sporting industry is NFTs. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are a type of digital asset that cannot be replicated and can be sent to a wallet address like regular cryptocurrencies.
These unique features have seen NFTs become a crucial concept set to disrupt the sporting ecosystem for fans, athletes, and sporting brands. NFTs have been issued to cover different digital arts like trading cards, avatars, videos, event ticketing, sports collectibles, and more.
NFTs provide a personalized experience for sports fans as they can hold rare items that can be traded at any time on dedicated marketplaces. For example, an NBA team can decide to issue 5 NFT cards to commemorate their 50th anniversary. Fans that buy the NFT know that they are among a few to hold a rare collectible, and this provides a form of ownership to the fan and bragging rights.
SportsIcon trailblazing innovative sporting NFTs
The most recent NFT project looking to bridge the disconnect between fans, athletes, and sporting brands is SportsIcon. SportIcon is an NFT platform that enables fans to purchase limited NFTs that provide access to drops of their favorite sports personalities. ‘’
The blockchain platform is built on a highly scalable blockchain ‘’Flow’’ a dedicated NFT architecture that powers several NFT platforms, including NBA Top Shot. Additionally, to deliver an engaging experience for users, SportsIcon plans to collaborate with stars in different sports to create exclusive video content.
The contents will focus on different aspects of their career and reveal details that will interest fans. These videos known as drops will be tokenized, and fans can own a piece of the footage by purchasing the NFTs.
SportsIcon NFTs are divided into different chapters, and holders can get VIP access to different cinematic drops of the star athlete and other collectibles. SportsIcon has partnered with soccer star Romelu Lukaku and NFL legend Mick Vick to create exclusive NFT drops. In addition, it has collaborated with Mexican soccer called PUMAS and the popular Lucha Libre wrestling to release exclusive NFTs on its platform.
SportsIcon has also completed a successful sale of its NFT-based community called Lion Club. Lion Club consists of 9,000 lion-themed NFTs representing a community of sports fans that will access unique community perks.
Some of which includes in-person meeting with sporting stars’ exclusive sports-related NFTs, VIP sporting events, free airdrop of ICON tokens, and more. SportsIcon was able to generate $1.4 million from the sale of the 9,000 NFTs, that sold out within a short period from launch.
SportsIcon raises $5.5 million in latest Seed round
SportsIcon is backed by key players in the blockchain industry and recently raised $5.5 million in its latest seed round. The Seed round included top firms and venture capitalists such as Dapper Labs, AU21 Capital, Vinny Lingham, Elefund, Craig Clemens, 4th Revolution Capital, Vendetta Capital, Sunny Madra, FishDAO and more.
This development shows that institutions and blockchain stakeholders believe in the potential of SportsIcon. The list of SportsIcon partners and investors continues to grow and includes key figures like “rap legend and tech investor Nas; former NBA champion Andrew Bogut; Roham Gharegozlou, the CEO of Dapper Labs and creators of NBA Top Shot; Wndrco; On Deck Runway Fund.
Other partners include Nihal Mehta of Eniac Ventures; Mike Edwards of Argo Blockchain; Anand Agarawala, Founder of Spatial; Andrew Masanto of Reserve Protocol, Hedera Hashgraph and Pet Lab Co.; and Chad Hurley, the founder and former CEO of YouTube.”
More developments in store
SportsIcon has already stated its intention to continue expanding its NFT metaverse. An IDO (initial DEX Offering) is set to hold in Q4 2021 and will introduce its native token ICON to the public. ICON is the utility token of SportsIcon and will be used to access exclusive content and pay for NFTs within its ecosystem.
SportsIcon has also reached out to more athletes and sporting brands to issue their tokens on its platform and is working on launching a dedicated NFT marketplace.