How Crypto Bridges Sport and Fans | Notum

It seems that blockchain technologies and crypto are almost everywhere, so it is no wonder it stepped into the sport. Just imagine billions of fans worldwide have an opportunity to become a part of their favorite sport and team by voting, getting exclusive access to some VIP features, and gamification features. 

Besides, many sportsmen truly believe in decentralization and crypto ideas revolutionizing the out-of-date idea of a monetary system. They are not only becoming closer to their devotees but also investing their money in crypto and gaining a substantial profit. Is that a sweet win-win collaboration? Here we are to work that out.

Football

Manchester United F.C. cut a deal with Tezos valued at $27 million per year. According to the agreement, the Tezos logo will appear on the soccer team's warm-up jerseys. Manchester City F.C. is also a pioneer in building the world's first metaverse football stadium to help fans attend games online. 

Manchester City F.C. agreed with OKX (formerly OKEx), so the OKX added in-stadium labeling at the Etihad and Academy Stadia. 

The South American Football Confederation and Crypto.com, the world's fastest-growing crypto platform, has a multi-year partnership. Crypto.com will be an Official Partner of CONMEBOL Libertadores for the 2023-2026 cycle. 

Basketball

The National Basketball Association agreed to its first cryptocurrency sponsorship deal with Coinbase. According to the agreement, Coinbase will leverage all the NBA's platforms, including the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and USA Basketball.

The NBA is about to launch a digital NFT-based fantasy basketball game with an NFT platform Sorare. Thus, Sorare becomes the "Official NFT Fantasy Partner" of the NBA.

Besides that, Crypto.com’s third campaign video features basketball player Joel Embiid and takes inspiration from his career growth to highlight the company motto “Fortune Favors the Brave.”

Tennis

Naomi Osaka, one of the highest-ranked tennis players in the world, supports crypto exchange FTX.

FTX announced Osaka would take an equity stake in the exchange and receive an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency as compensation for her crypto enthusiasm. According to FTX, the tennis star will be part of a “long-term partnership” to make women part of the crypto space.

Oleksandra Oliynykova, a Croatian tennis player, sold a part of her right arm for more than $5,000 as an NFT on a popular NFT marketplace OpenSea.

The International Tennis Federation and Davis Cup organizers Kosmos Tennis partnered with blockchain provider Chiliz to launch an official Davis Cup fan token on Socios.com.

Racing

Formula 1 is into crypto, too. Red Bull Racing has a 3-year $150-million sponsorship agreement with cryptocurrency firm Bybit and Tezos as its official blockchain partner. Tezos supports McLaren Racing, which has teams in Formula 1 and IndyCar.

Floki sponsored the Alpha Romeo F1 team, Fantom Blockchain patronized the Scuderia AlphaTauri team, Scuderia Ferrari F1 team partnered with Velas Network AG. Formula 1's official title partner is a popular crypto exchange, Crypto.com.

On March 22, 2022, Fantom partnered with Formula 1 racing drivers Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi. The duo drivers will have Fantom imagery on their race suits and helmets throughout the F1 2022 season. The Fittipaldi Brothers will mint their first NFT series on the Fantom network.

People

Sportsmen aren’t just supportive of cryptocurrencies; they also invest their money in them, and some even get paid in crypto. Here are some prominent examples of how world-famous sportsmen collaborate with the crypto space.

1. Lionel Messi
   Lionel Messi, who needs no introduction, is going down an entirely different road. Lionel agreed to get a part of his $130 million dollar salary in PSG fan tokens.
2. Serena Williams
   Serena Williams, a famous tennis player, recently announced an investment in the Bitcoin rewards app Lolli. Alexis Ohanian, an internet entrepreneur, and Serena’s husband, participated in the $5 million investment round.
3. Tom Brady
   Brady is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He launched an NFT collection that was sold out in under 10 minutes. He and his wife, Gisele, now have equity in FTX, and Brady co-founded NFT platform Autograph, which raised $170 million in January.
4. Aaron Rodgers
   Aaron Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the National Football League (NFL) Green Bay Packers. Rodgers once tweeted that he believed in Bitcoin and the future was bright. So, no wonder he’s partnered with Cash App and held a $1 million worth giveaway of bitcoin.
5. Jessica Pegula
   Pegula is a seventh-ranked women’s tennis player in the world and the first female athlete to drop an NFT collection in March 2021, telling the Tennis 

Top 5 Fan Tokens

According to CMC, here are the top 5 tokens, and they are all tied to football clubs. That proves that football fans have quite a powerful lobby.

1. Santos FC Fan Token
   The SANTOS is a BEP-20 utility token launched to evolve football supporters in their favorite teams. So, the holders receive exclusive collectibles and integration with the Binance NFT Marketplace, engagement-based team rewards, privileges, team voting polls, gamification features, and much more. 
2. S.S. Lazio Fan Token
   The LAZIO token is a BEP-20 utility token created to revolutionize the fan experience for the famous Italian football club, Lazio. It gives access to exclusive user rewards and voting rights and acts as an investment asset. 
3. FC Porto Fan Token
   The PORTO token is a BEP-20 utility token of the FC Porto football club. receiving limited collectibles and integration with the Binance NFT Marketplace, engagement-based team rewards, exclusive privileges, voting rights, gamification, and special brand experiences.
4. Alpine F1 Team Fan Token
   The ALPINE token is…, no, it’s not another football fan’s token. Just to be diverse, it’s a Formula-1 team. It has the following use cases: participating in fan voting sessions, staking NFTs for fan rewards, digital collectibles, donating to favorite teams, getting a proof-of-loyalty badge, and of course, accessing various gamification features on the Binance Fan Token Platform.
5. Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token
   The $PSG Fan Token is a BEP-20 Paris Saint-Germain utility token. It gives 
   Les Parisiens’ fans have a chance to vote, access unique experiences, earn official products, and have an opportunity to influence decisions taken at the Paris Saint-Germain HQ in Paris.