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Will LA Rams players explode into the NFT market? When? Who’s first?
In LA Rams news: Non-Fungible Tokens, a.k.a. NFTs, are the latest wave of NFL collectibles. When will Rams players be available?
ramblinfan.com
Will the LA Rams find a new source of revenue to help out their cap space situation? Or will it pour directly into the pockets of their players? After recently reading about Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski announcing he was selling his Super Bowl highlights as an NFT, I was left wondering a few things. First of all, just exactly what is an NFT? And then, who might be the first LA Ram be to get into this new hot digital trend and come out with their own NFT?
NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens, and they are the hottest collectible since Topps baseball cards. (Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day.) It’s just a high-falutin’ techno-word for something which cannot be exchanged. For example, you can exchange a $10 bill for ten ones – it’s fungible. NFT’s are, by definition, non-fungible, because you can’t exchange them for other cryptocurrencies or goods like money allows you to do.
It is the latest version of cryptocurrency to sweep the market, and it has become instant wealth for some. How rich? Well, the auction house for millionaires, Christie’s auction house, sold their first-ever NFT, it was a piece of Digital artwork designed (created? Inspired?) by digital artist Beeple, for a whopping $69.3 million. Now NFTs have suddenly captured the world’s attention. Even those of NFL players.
And considering that the Rams play in glitzy Hollywood’s backyard, you’d think they’d be among the first of NFL teams to embrace this new trend.
View: https://twitter.com/RobGronkowski/status/1371183711115489280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1371183711115489280%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Framblinfan.com%2F2021%2F03%2F22%2Fwill-la-rams-players-explode-nft-market-whos-first%2F
All of this is happening with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aging tight end Rob Gronkowski. Imagine similar buzz about the LA Rams if they win the Super Bowl? What kind of market would the Rams players’ past, present, and future command in such a new version of digital imagery?
New NFL (Players) market?
A few ideas came to mind. Could the Rams’ first NFT be a collection of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald’s most thunderous sacks? All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey high-pointing the ball and snatching INTs out of the sky or from wide receiver’s paws? Or, something else altogether from the Rams? Perhaps digital collage of a player’s career? Team statistics. Or something else altogether.
Anything but the new uniform designs, please?!
So since NFTs certainly appear to have taken hold in professional sports, perhaps we should learn a little more about this new collectible.
Be like Gronk?
If any Rams wanna be like Gronk, they’ll need to learn much more about this product, make connections with digital artists, and act fast. After all, he was actually the first professional U.S. athlete to commission, own, and sell his own NFT series. And he recently grossed $1.75 million for the sale of 348 digital collectible cards and one of the items even went for $433,000.
Think that the NFL market is one-and-done? Well, another player joined the market. He is Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahones. I’m betting you recognize that name. Well, he recently got into the NFT realm as well.
In a statement coinciding with the release of his NFT, Gronk explained,
“I wanted to take the business into my own hands and be the first professional athlete to launch my own NFT collection. Now, fans will be able to get a piece of the action and share these iconic Super Bowl moments with me in this all-new digital format.”- Rob Gronkowski per Justin Chan, news writer for Entrepreneur
NFT’s in the sports arena are like a digital trading card, only you can’t pin this kind of trading card in the spokes of your bicycle to make fluttering noises.
Indeed, just as cryptocurrency is to cash, NFT’s are to cardboard trading cards.
A new form of wealth
Just a new option, a new offering, a trading card in a new digital file format, also known as a “blockchain-enabled card.” It is the blockchain that tracks the work and gives the owner of the NFT proof of ownership and authenticity. That blockchain is the same technology that is used in bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. But NFTs do not allow their images to convert into other forms of currency. So they are unique and not mutually interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same.
There’s only one person walking around with a certified digital certificate saying they own Gronk’s (or any other player’s) Super Bowl highlights. And that owner has the rights to the original. It’s the scarcity that creates value. And these things? One in existence. The value of diamonds is dependent upon their scarcity. These are the new digital diamonds.
The virtual connection to NFL teams and players
For the NFL, NFTs could represent a new way for fans to connect with their teams, players, and the game. But let’s not be too altruistic (showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others). This is about the wealth that is on display by the rights owner. It’s about the wealth it creates for the digital artist. And it’s one more pecking order to answer the age-old debates of which NFL player is more valuable than another.
Now, it will no longer be just about statistics, wins or losses, or Super Bowl rings. Now? The market itself can decide who is more worthy, whose NFT image is so passionately sought by wealthy fans that it commands the highest price. And that will trigger the fan of another player to outbid others for the NFL of their favorite player. This is a never-ending story.
NBA was first, again?
The NBA was actually the first professional sports league to jump on the NFT bandwagon. (Why does it seem like the NBA is always out in front of new things?) It began in October of last year when an outfit called Dapper Labs launched its NBA Top Shot in coordination with the league and the players association.
Since then, and some $396 million in sales later, according to Front Office Sports, there are now conversations taking place between Dapper and the NFL, as well as other sports leagues.
That’s just the first wave. Consider this generation the Atari phase. Now you get the picture of how big and bold this is going to become.
What does it bring?
NFT technology creates new revenue streams for the NBA and NBA players. And it creates new collectibles for NBA Fans. So it should be a simple matter of just setting up a similar shop for NFL players, right? But wait, doesn’t the NFL own those images? How do players get to use the images? But on the other hand, players have the right to endorse products independently
Oh, if there are any barristers reading this, I’m willing to bet that mouths are watering over this one. The NFL is the grandaddy of professional sports. The market for this technology unleashed into the NFL’s past present and future is astronomical. And there’s the rub. Whose product line is it, anyway?
Whose line is it, anyway?
Well, according to Sports Business Journal, the NFL is currently engaged in what it is calling “active discussions” with possible NFT partners. And the scope of their interest has expanded into all digital collectibles, and for that matter, about the use of blockchain technology for NFL ticketing and other pragmatic applications.
And in a memo recently distributed to all NFL teams’ front offices, the league has asked teams to hold off on cutting their own NFT deals without checking with the league beforehand. The league’s memo goes on to say that a “measured and deliberate approach” to this new area will be forthcoming.
I reckon the NFL brass took notice that NFTs are a potential threat to its licensure money stream. Not to mention the money flows into player’s pockets. And so that’s a new player-empowering feature of NFTs – artists, or in this case, NFL players, retain a portion of future sales.
It’s yours, and only yours, with limits
You see the NFT bestows exclusive ownership to whatever it is, whether it’s a piece of artwork, a piece of music (the rock group Kings of Leon recently released an album in NFT format), or a player’s Super Bowl or NFL career highlights.
Its value is based on owning something that speaks to you, that you identify with, such as your favorite NFL team or LA Rams player. It could even be an NFL gameday ticket! (That’s another avenue the NFL is exploring – harnessing NFTs to drive ticket sales)
For example, the NBA’s Top Shot offers NFTs they call “Moments” which are essentially video clips of favorite players or teams. It could be Larry Bird’s three-point shooting performance at the NBA All-Star Game of the past but could be aimed at today’s game, a clip of a step-back three from James Harden. The NFT would give you exclusive ownership of a moment, a memory, a sports touchstone that resonates with you personally.
It’s similar to why some people buy art. It’s just something they like, that speaks to them. There may not be any deeper reason than that.
Person-to-person trading of NFTs is no different than when you wanted to trade your Jack Youngblood LA Rams trading card for your buddy’s Deacon Jones or Merlin Olsen LA Rams trading card of the past. That’s called the secondary NFT market and it’s been pegged at more than $380 million. That’s the tip of the iceberg.
Should the Rams get on board with NFTs, here’s hoping the upcoming season’s NFT is new WR DeSean Jackson reeling in aerial bombs from new QB Matthew Stafford and taking it all the way to the house.