Major League Baseball (MLB), an American professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world is looking for an expert in Metaverse and Web3.0-related innovations as it looks to expand its current presence in the emerging ecosystem.
According to the details shared on LinkedIn, the MLB job title is “Licensing Manager- Digital Games, NFT, Metaverse.” The hired professional will be undertaking many tasks including the development and execution of partnership strategy in expanding digital portfolio areas including, NFT, Metaverse, wearable technology, and AR/VR strategy.
While this job description already suggests the league association is ready to go all out in the Web3.0 space, the profession will also be tasked with identifying partnerships with marketplaces, tools, and platforms to create best-in-class product experience for baseball fans to access and engage with the league’s expanding digital collections.
While the entire clamor for the metaverse is just building momentum, MLB’s involvement in the space has been quite emphatic. Besides inking a partnership with Candy Digital back in January, a linkup that opened it up to start selling NFTs at the time, MLB is also the official baseball partner of Sorare.
As reported by Blockchain.news in May, the Sorare partnership positions the MLB to help create teams with NFTs representing Major League Gaming players. The created team can then be used to enter tournaments through which the players’ real-life performance is automatically reflected in the game.
Like many Web2.0 organizations, the hiring move from the MLB is considered a bold step and a worthy investment that can generally help in advancing the course of Web3.0. While the role has already seen as many as 108 applicants according to the LinkedIn update, the MLB has not come out to announce it has filled the role as of the time of writing.
Sorare has partnered with Major League Baseball to create a fantasy baseball game featuring Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT).
Through the partnership, which also involves MLB Players, players can create teams with NFTs representing Major League Gaming players. The created team can then be used to enter tournaments through which the players’ real-life performance is automatically reflected in the game.
While the move is the first of its kind between Sorare and MLB, the partnership will help the players to connect more with their MLB icons and teams in real life with a lot of rewards associated. The Sorare NFT-based gaming model started with football and the startup has seen tremendous growth in its platform thus far.
Besides generating $325 million in sales in 2021, up more than 3885% when compared on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the outfit has seen as much as 32% growth month-on-month over the past year. The growth shows the massive embrace of the Sorare NFT-backed fantasy games and with the MLB version set to make its debut this summer, the catch for players is all the more enhanced.
“The connection between Americans and baseball is enduring. And baseball has always been on the cutting edge of new technologies and innovations, so we’re proud that MLB and the MLBPA have chosen Sorare to deliver an NFT MLB Game to fans globally,” said Nicolas Julia, CEO of Sorare, in a statement, adding that:
“MLB has been at the forefront of interactive games for decades, while baseball has some of the oldest and most established forms of sports memorabilia… Today, as digital engagement and technology evolve for a new generation, our partnership will help a new and broader fanbase to connect with America’s pastime.”
At a time when the crypto ecosystem is experiencing a very massive price turmoil, playable and thrilling games like what Sorare has to offer have been identified as one of the ways to draw mainstream participation in the blockchain world.
Sports and esports fans will soon see more crypto ads during games as Terra has partnered up with the Washington Nationals MLB team and crypto exchange Bitstamp is now partnered with esports organization Immortals.
Terra (LUNA) is the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the blockchain that produces the UST stablecoin. The project is governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which is now an official partner of the Washington Nationals.
The Terra community committed $38.2 million in UST over the next five years to secure the deal. The partnership was proposed by Terra founder Do Kwon on Feb. 1 through the community’s governance platform.
As part of the partnership, there are plans to allow fans at games to make purchases with UST at the team’s home stadium, Nationals Park, as early as next season.
The team will also display Terra signage around Nationals Park during games and produce a five-part video series promoting Terra.
Nearly 1.5 million fans attended Nationals games throughout the 2021 season. That number is expected to climb above 2 million as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, giving Terra greater exposure in the ballpark.
Terra is one of the largest DAOs in the cryptocurrency industry.
Terra has experienced a meteoric rise as a market leader.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 9, 2022
The Terra community joins FTX as a major crypto outfit sponsoring professional American sports teams.
From real to virtual pro sports
U.K.-based crypto exchange Bitstamp announced on Feb. 9 that it has partnered with the U.S.-based Immortals competitive esports organization.
The deal will see Bitstamp and Immortals collaborate on three fronts including future nonfungible tokens (NFT) for fans.
Immortals will launch a team of content creators who will serve as Bitstamp brand ambassadors and offer “interactive streams, custom content, and exclusive giveaways that fuse crypto and gaming.”
What’s the best way to announce a partnership with the world’s longest running crypto exchange? @Bitstamp pic.twitter.com/6Ap8tEiqVr
— Immortals (@Immortals) February 9, 2022
Bitstamp will sponsor the Immortals during the League of Legends World Championship. At the championship, every time Immortals draws first blood (that is, gets the first kill in a match) fans will have a chance to win crypto.
Related:FarmVille developer Zynga set to release first NFT game this year
The Immortals stated the partnership is “specifically designed as both an educational opportunity, through which fans can learn more about crypto, and to enable fans to explore and interact with the Web3 space.”
Bitstamp now has its second official partner after Guild Esports PLC for its Bitstamp Gaming platform.
Crypto has seen fast adoption throughout the sports world.
High-profile sponsorships are giving crypto companies mainstream exposure.
Crypto assets like NFTs and fan tokens are creating new value for sports organizations.
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Sports and crypto may seem like two unrelated worlds, but they have much to offer each other under closer inspection.
Crypto Exposure Through Sponsorships
In 2014, Bitcoin payment provider Bitpay signed on with ESPN to sponsor a college football game, the St. Petersburg Bowl. Although minor, it marked a significant milestone as the first major crypto sports deal. This year, crypto made it to the NFL as the New York Giants became the league’s first team with a crypto sponsorship, partnering with Grayscale Investments.
The Giants announce a partnership with Grayscale Investments®. @Grayscale is the first cryptocurrency partner of an NFL team!
While football started the trend of crypto sponsorships in 2021, it’s tough to find a sports league without some connection to crypto. NBA team Portland Trail Blazers recently announced apartnershipwith crypto cashback app StormX. Earlier in the year, Miami HEAT signed an exclusive naming rights deal with crypto exchange FTX, renaming its home stadium the “FTX Arena.” The 19-year deal was worth a massive $135 million. Following this, FTX signed the biggest sports sponsorship in crypto to date when itpartneredwith Major League Baseball in a five-year deal on Jun. 23.
Those involved in sponsorship deals see a lot of potential in marketing crypto services to sports fans. Commenting on the deal with FTX, MLB Chief Revenue Officer Noah Garden said:
“Our fans have been early adopters in using new technologies to engage with our game.”
Crypto exchanges and payment providers have made up the bulk of sports sponsorships, highlighting substantial crossover between sports fans and cryptocurrency adoption. Sports teams are starting to allow ticketpurchaseswith cryptocurrencies, with MLB team Oakland A’s offering a full season suite for one Bitcoin earlier this year.
Sports organizations could also see crypto sponsorships as a much-needed opportunity to attract younger fans. According to a 2017studyfrom the Sports Business Journal, the average MLB fan is now 57 years old.
The Rise of NFTs In Sports
Blockchain technology is also adding value for sports fans in the form of collectible NFTs.
NFTs are non-fungible tokens, a type of asset that allows creators to tokenize digital art, collectibles, or any other kind of asset on the Internet. NFTs have enhanced collectibles, as the blockchain technology behind them allows for provable ownership and scarcity.
The NBA has been one of the most successful organizations to utilize NFTs thanks to its involvement in the digital collectible card platform NBA Top Shot. Built on the FLOW blockchain, the game allows users to buy, sell, and trade NBA “moments” and keep them stored on the blockchain in digital wallets.
The platform has seen massive success in 2021, reaching over one million users in May. The secondary market for Top Shot is also attracting big investors, with a rare LeBron James moment selling for $387,600 in April.
Over in Europe, soccer is also benefiting from the NFT craze. The Fantasy soccer game Sorare has attracted several licensing partnerships from major European teams, including Real Madrid andAC Milan. In the game, players act as managers, assembling teams of soccer player NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Teams are then ranked based on the performance of their players on the real-world soccer pitch, just like traditional fantasy soccer.
NFTs on Sorare are also selling for eye-watering amounts, but not quite as high as NBA Top Shots. In March, a one-of-a-kindCristiano Ronaldo NFTsold for $290,000.
WOW! 🚀 Congratulations to FC Camembert who has just smashed our #Sorare Market record.
The Unique 2020-21 Cristiano Ronaldo card was bought for $289920 on the Transfer Market. #OwnYourGame ⚽️
Season: 2020-2021
Serial: 1/1
Price: $289920 pic.twitter.com/unLS9aXaN1
— Sorare (@SorareHQ) March 14, 2021
Digital collectibles are not the only way sports organizations are using NFTs. Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, plans to turn game tickets into NFTs. Speaking on theDelphi Podcastin March, Cuban said:
“We want to be able to find ways so that not only can our consumers, our fans, buy tickets and resell them, but we continue to make a royalty on them.”
Cuban hopes that using NFTs can accommodate fans who might want to sell high-demand games from their season tickets while at the same time allowing the Mavericks to profit from the sale.
Fan Involvement With Sports Teams
In some cases, the sports teams themselves are moving onto the blockchain.
The tokenized sports exchange Chiliz offers sports teams the ability to create fan tokens, allowing fans to purchase a part of their favorite teams on Socios.com. Owners of fan tokens can vote on key decisions affecting clubs while also gaining access to VIP rewards, promotions, and other unique experiences. Italian team Juventus FC was the first to produce a fan token on the Chiliz platform in 2019. Since then, several soccer and esports teams have held Fan Token Offerings, including UEFA Cup winners FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain FC.
FC Barcelona is proud to announce a global partnership with blockchain platform @chiliz & @socios. Using the digital currency $CHZ, you’ll soon be able to buy Barça Fan Tokens, which give you the right to vote in club polls & earn rewards https://t.co/2NOhfsHV8i pic.twitter.com/a5GhCCo717
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 13, 2020
Presently, the global sports sponsorship market isexpectedto reach almost $90 billion by 2027. As the sports industry embraces cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, this figure could rise exponentially in the coming years.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this feature owned BTC and ETH.
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Major League Baseball team Oakland Athletics has sold their first crypto-purchased season ticket less than three weeks after first offering them.
The Oakland A’s, as they’re colloquially called, introduced an offer on March 15 enabling fans to purchase suite tickets with Bitcoin.
On Wednesday, March 31, the San Francisco East Bay ballclub announced that the buyer was New York-based publicly traded crypto asset platform Voyager Digital Ltd. The fintech firm purchased a six-person suite for all of the team’s 2021 home games for the price of one Bitcoin, or approximately $58,500 on the day.
It’s happening: #Bitcoin in baseball. @investvoyager (publicly-traded, licensed crypto-asset platform) has purchased full season suite at #Oakland Coliseum. 1st ticket deal in cryptocurrency in #MLB. @Athletics @Ehrls15
— Raj Mathai (@rajmathai) March 31, 2021
Six-person private suites for individual games are on sale for around $600, and the official price for the suite for the entire season is currently more than that of a single Bitcoin at $64,800 according to the official website.
The purchase has become a milestone for the A’s as they become the first team in Major League Baseball to sell tickets for cryptocurrency. Team President Dave Kaval congratulated the buyer, stating:
“Cryptocurrency is a viable and tangible currency model, and we know other forward-thinking companies and individuals will join Voyager in using this payment for ticket purchases.”
Congrats to @investvoyager for purchasing the first full season suite for one Bitcoin! We’ll see you at the ballpark tomorrow. #Bitcoin @Athletics @MLB ⚾️
— Dave Kaval (@DaveKaval) March 31, 2021
Voyager co-founder and CEO Steve Ehrlich stated that the firm has close ties with outfielder Stephen Piscotty and that the suite will be shared with its customer base in the Bay Area and beyond.
In an earlier interview on Friday, March 26, Kaval stated that the team would be hodling any BTC made through ticket sales, adding:
“We’re believers in [Bitcoin] and hopefully it continues to go up and maybe we can find some big free agents with some of the proceeds.”
Fans can still buy a full-season six-person suite for one BTC until Thursday, April 1 according to the team’s official channels.
