Sports NFT projects rakes in $1.8B YTD in combined sales

• Sport-related NFTs remain a booming industry
• Mainly secondary sales continue to note strong growth MoM
• NBA Top Shot remains the most popular project in this segment

BELGIUM (CoinChapter.com) — Sports events always tend to bring emotions to thousands, if not millions of people worldwide. However, like the Olympics, rare occasions strike a chord with many people who want to see something that isn’t necessarily one of the many traditional sports.

Recently, there has been an overlap between sports and non-fungible tokens, giving rise to an industry segment that keeps expanding rapidly. 

Also read: Blockchain newbie APENFT partners with WINkLink to expand into GameFi

Sports Are Booming Business

As indicated by Statista, there is global growth in the sports industry. That growth is tangible for many years now and is likely to continue for some time to come.

The advent of fantasy sports teams has created many new opportunities for people to enjoy, either for monetary gain or competitiveness. It is a concept everyone can get behind, and it is very accessible to get in on the action.

Fast forward to 2021, and there is a very different take on sports engagement among fans.

Although fantasy sports leagues are still as popular as ever, the cryptocurrency industry can gain momentum with the help of sports-related projects. Several applications exist already, and they have all proven to be successful. Fan tokens, for example, can be traded against cryptocurrencies across numerous exchanges, potentially bringing millions of fans over to the Bitcoin world.

Even the non-fungible token sports applications make their mark on the industry.

Mainly secondary sales are of great interest here, as their volume expands rapidly. All popular projects, including NBA Top Shot, Zed Run, Topps MLB, and F1 Delta, note ongoing secondary sales growth since early 2021. Secondary sales are not possible without an initial interest by users buying packs or sets, however.

Thus, it is safe to say the entire sports-oriented NFT industry is thriving lately. 

Sports And NFTs Are A Good Match

Per the rankings by CryptoSlam!, it is obvious why sports and NFTs are such a good mix of the top 30 applications by overall sales volume, several of them focus on sports. NBA Top Shots remains the market leader, with Zed Run making it into the top 10 as well.

Topps MLB and F1 Delta Time are ranked lower in the top 30, yet it confirms the overall appeal of sports-themed non-fungible tokens. 

One apparent trend is how these projects all rely on partnerships and licensing agreements with established sports organizations.

Those partnerships can lead to new collections being released, such as ZED RUN’s partnerships with NASCAR. Creating signature sports-related non-fungible tokens has the potential to draw in large crowds. The crowds may eventually begin exploring what else the cryptocurrency industry has to offer. 

There is one caveat to consider in the current sports NFT landscape.

In recent months, total monthly sales have been on the decline, primarily for Top Shot, Sorare, and F1 Delta sales.

That latter one is a bit surprising as the new F1 season’s in full swing. For the NBA, the Summer League is around the corner, which can spike some renewed interest. ZED RUN and Sorare continue to note success, potentially fueled by speculative behavior.

Despite the sales tapering off, there is still strong unique buyer support for NBA Top Shot.

It is now up to Topps MLB and F1 Delta Time to close the gap, although that will not be an easy challenge. Sports, combined with cryptocurrency-oriented initiatives, remain the go-to use case for fans and teams/athletes. Creating a global connection requires innovative technologies and ideas.

Exploring the NFT angle has proven successful for several sports franchises. It will likely give rise to other projects following a similar approach.