Why are NBA stars so into crypto?
What kind of experience it is when we use Dogecoin to buy NBA ticket?
It must be buzzing for crypto lovers!
Just in March of this year, BitPay, crypto payment service provider, reached an agreement with the NBA team Dallas Mavericks announced that it would accept Dogecoin payments.
After decades of rapid commercialization, the NBA is opening the next era of innovation in its own way. This focus on innovation is particularly prominent in the field of cryptocurrency.
So, Why does the NBA likes cryptocurrency so much, and having so many partnerships with crypto companies?
The NBA are enthusiastic about crypto.
The 2020 global pandemic caused the NBA's ticket revenue to be cut in half. Finding a new way to make revenue growth has become a tricky issue for the league, and the NBA has worked hard to diversify their revenue sources.
Since 2020, the cryptocurrency industry has been flourishing, with more and more cross-industry partnerships, and it has become one of the perfect partners of the NBA.
From the league to the players, the NBA league is now having a more ‘crypto vibe’. The league tries to improve the revenue structure through NFT and cryptocurrency investment; the team hopes to use crypto to strengthen the team’s cultural construction and resist inflation; the players try to invest through investing crypto that increases their market value and make more moneys.
On December 1, during the game between the NBA Nets and the Knicks, there was a scene that surprised everyone in the crypto world - a Coinbase advert appeared on the court.
This is not the first time that Coinbase have partnership with the NBA. As early as October, the NBA and Coinbase reached the first cryptocurrency sponsorship agreement. Coinbase stated that it will become the exclusive crypto partner of the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and the US National Men’s Basketball Team.
Not long ago, Crypto.com and AEG, the owner and operator of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, reached a 20-year agreement to officially rename the Staples Center to Crypto.com Arena (Crypto.com). Arena). The naming rights transaction for the next 20 years amounts to 700 million U.S. dollars. At the same time, this is the most "expensive" arena naming rights deal in sports history.
On April 7 this year, the Miami Heat officially announced that FTX.us will be the exclusive title for its home stadium for the next 19 years. The original American Airlines Arena was renamed FTX Arena (FTX Arena).
This 19-year transaction is worth 135 million U.S. dollars. At the time, the Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, said that the FTX bid "complemented" the crypto-friendly brand he wanted to build for the city.
So far, the NBA has established partnerships with four companies in the cryptocurrency field, including FTX, Coinbasa, Crypto.com, and NYDIG. Cooperation with the NBA is becoming a goal in the eyes of cryptocurrency exchanges
NFT does help to make money
In July 2019, the NBA League, the NBA Players Association and Dapper Labs co-established the NBA Top Shot, allowing fans to buy and sell specific, officially certified highlight NFTs on the platform.
The NBA League cut out the highlights of each game. Dapper Labs packaged these clips into a digital package and converted it into NFT format. The digital package was sold on the official NBA Top Shot website for between $9 and $230. The price of the digital package depends on the number of highlights, the quality, and the star level of the players.
In addition to highlights, NBA Top Shot also sells star cards. In addition to text and picture content, the star card also has three-dimensional dynamic presentation methods such as GIF or short video. Star cards can be divided into three categories: Common (common), Rare (rare) and Legendary (Legendary). The card price is determined according to the star level and rarity of the card.
For example: Lebron James, a popular clip NFT was sold on the platform at a price of 200,000 US dollars. Now the price of the highlight has gradually risen to US$210,000.
According to data from DappRadar, as of December 3, 2021, the monthly transaction volume of NBA Top Shot reached US$912,000 and the transaction volume reached 160,000. A total of 15,000 users participated in the transaction in the past month.
NBA players can get a cut of sales revenue through this project. Some players decide to buy their own highlights. This allowed the league to see the future potential of the project. When the project announced that it needed financing, many players participated in the financing of the project.
Since the beginning of this year, NBA teams and stars have made continuous progress in cooperation with digital assets and blockchain technology companies, including the Golden State Warriors and the Charlotte Hornets.
On April 27, 2021, the Golden State Warriors announced on their official Twitter that they would launch a series of NFT collections, becoming the first professional sports team to launch an officially authorized digital series of souvenirs. There are two series of NFT products launched this time. The Warriors Memorial Ticket Stub NFT will bring to life some of the most iconic and memorable moments in history. Each ticket stub is hand-drawn and digitally created by the famous artist Black Madre.
The Charlotte Hornets launched the team and the league's first NFT product in May of this year-a commemorative ticket presented in the form of NFT. This series of tickets is to commemorate the first season of the Hornets joining the league (1988-89 season), the number is limited to 88, each ticket price of 4.99 US dollars.
The cryptocurrency journey of popular NBA stars
The NBA has never lacked talented players with outstanding talents, but there are not many who can play in the cryptocurrency circle.
Kevin Durant
As the top five players in the league today, Durant's annual salary in 2021 is as high as 40 million US dollars.
But as early as 2017, kd and his agent Rich Kleiman co-founded the investment company Thirty Five Ventures.
Durant's vision is very unique. In 2017, Thirty Five Ventures participated in the Series D Round of financing of Coinbase. At that time, Coinbase raised 100 million US dollars, and the market value was about 1.6 billion US dollars. By 2021, 4 In June, Coinbase was listed on the Nasdaq with the title of "the first share of the global cryptocurrency exchange". Its highest stock price reached US$342, and its market value was once close to US$86 billion. With this investment, Durant’s value also appeared. Soaring, this transaction allowed Durant to profit from it at least 31.39 times.
Spencer Dinwiddie
The story of Spencer Dinwiddie is intriguing
Dinwiddie told Leo Sepkowitz of Bleacher Report in October 2018 that he owns thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin (purchase prices range from 3000-4000 US dollars). At the current bitcoin price, the decision to buy bitcoins with wages has made Dinwiddie at least nearly 10 times more profitable.
As early as 2019, the Premier League team Arsenal have taken the lead in developing blockchain products.
In February 2019, Arsenal cooperated with the blockchain company Fantastec to develop an exclusive App for the Arsenal team and sell team related merchandise on the App.
To conclude, whether it is a sports event or a club, embracing the blockchain field is to adapt to the changes in the consumption habits of more and more fans. From watching a single game to purchasing a player’s related NFT, the emergence of the blockchain has opened up the connection between sports events and the connecting channel of fans brings more interesting gameplay to fans, hoping to increase fans' attention, participation and even loyalty, thereby broadening the boundaries of commercial realization.