The NHL and its Alumni and Player Association have signed a multi-year contract deal with Sweet NFT Marketplace. The league plans to release videos of the 2022-2023 hockey season starting in October as NFTs. This move allow fans to experience the NFT marketplace with exclusive drops.
Features of the NHL Sweet Marketplace
The NHL Sweet marketplace will offer a range of digital collectibles that include highlights of games, top plays, historical moments etc. According to David Lehanski the league’s Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation, the NHL marketplace will offer exclusive drops and an NFT trading platform.
The platform will also consist of collection experiences from games, specialty packs, and a 3D trophy room where users will exhibit their collections. The marketplace will also be a platform where NHL fans and collectors can trade and collect unique and rare digital collectibles from the NHL history.
The league is yet to announce the blockchain that will host its marketplace. However, according Lehansaki they are considering factors such as low gas fees and environmental sustainability.
In an interview, Lehansaki commented on the utility of the proposed NFTs.
He said:
“Building NFTs and digital collectibles that are cool, have great design and are scarce, and have collectible value is important. But we’re also thinking about what’s the utility beyond that and about how digital collectibles plug into the broader fan experience and what that means for the NHL,”
Sports Organizations Involved in the Digital Space
The National Hockey League is now on the list of sporting institutions that are involved in web 3.
Major sports leagues such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Hockey League are now launching NFTs that will help capture memorable moments in their sports history.
The NBA worked in collaboration with DapperLabs to launch its marketplace “Top Shot NFTs” in 2020. The NFL also released its play and own games while the MLB is yet to launch their gaming NFT.
Conclusion
NFTs have transcended the world of arts and has extended to the world of sports. Their usage in enhancing creativity and fan participation, presents an amazing use case for the novel tech.
Furthermore, embracing NFTs provides these sports leagues with a new way to connect with their fans and also generate income.