Major League Baseball (MLB), the most popular baseball league in the world, is digging deeper into Web 3.0. The league’s entrance into the metaverse began in early 2022, when its first NFT collection was released in partnership with Candy Digital. MLB later released several other NFT sports collections on SoRare, which has been a pioneer in the sports NFT niche with its collections from the NBA and popular European soccer leagues.
Due to popular demand, MLB is now looking to expand its Web 3.0 ventures by hiring new specialists in digital games, metaverse, and NFTs. The ad was posted on LinkedIn, which state’s that “NFTs, the metaverse, wearable technology, and AR/VR are now part of our expanding business model.”
Major League Baseball (#MLB), an American professional baseball association composed of 30 teams, is looking to hire someone to spearhead digital gaming, #NFT and metaverse licensing projects. pic.twitter.com/i55mRH583l
— MoonDefi (@moondefi1) October 19, 2022
Complimentary NFTs for Baseball Fans
The MLB is running a promotion for its upcoming playoff games this Autumn. Ultimately, this means fans attending the playoffs for the ’22-’23 season will be able to get their hands on a non-fungible token (NFT) absolutely free of charge.
Adding to its plans, Major League Baseball has joined forces with Candy Digital, a Web 3.0 company centered around digital sports collectibles, to design the Play of the Day (POTD) Collection. Throughout the ongoing baseball offseason, fans will be able to collect prizes by completing any of the 10 postseason Play Of The Day NFT challenges.
MLB is providing an NFT to every fan attending a postseason game this fall.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 13, 2022
Fans have used ticket stubs as memorabilia for decades — now, MLB and Candy Digital are pushing to create sentimental value in digital tickets.@DougGreenberg has more ⤵️
The Sports NFT Niche Is Growing Fast
As adoption of NFTS and their underlying technologies accelerate, the logos and slogans of blockchain companies are increasingly being displayed on basketball tees, football jerseys, and stadium banners. NFTs are growing in popularity as a form of memorabilia, with clubs from across the sports spectrum electing to issue NFT passes for stadium matches, while others have launched their own soccer fan tokens. As kick-off for the FIFA World Cup ‘22 draws near, the possibilities for partnerships between blockchain & sports are endless.
On the Flipside
- Despite the growth of the sports NFT market & the forthcoming FIFA World Cup ’22, soccer fan tokens are feeling the tug of the crypto winter, with many of them double digits in the red.
Why You Should Care
The total market cap of sports memorabilia has hit $26 billion. In 2021, sports NFTs made up $1.4B of this figure, and experts expect this to double for 2022. It is also estimated that sports NFT memorabilia could expand to become a $40 billion market by 2032.
Follow the latest sports NFT action:
Klay Thompson of Golden State Warriors Drops ‘Grails’ NFT Collection on Binance
Dapper Labs to Launch LaLiga Golazos Football NFT Project on Flow (FLOW)
