DraftKings Launches NFT Marketplace; Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky Could Be Among Releases

A leading sports betting operator is expanding its operations to non-fungible tokens, which could be another way to generate revenue and gain future customers in markets where it does not have legal sports betting operations yet.

What Happened: The DraftKings Marketplace from DraftKings Inc DKNG will be an NFT ecosystem and exchange. The marketplace will have NFT drops and support secondary-market transactions.

DraftKings Marketplace will be the exclusive distributor of NFT content from Autograph, an NFT company co-founded by Tom Brady.

“We aim to usher in this new era by introducing millions of collectors to this evolving space while providing beloved content through an intuitive interface built to win over the long term,” said DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish.

Unlike many NFT platforms that require users to have cryptocurrency to make purchases, DraftKings will use the U.S. Dollar for transactions.

Related Link: DraftKings Scores With New Investments And Hire Pushing Further Into Media And Content Creation

Why It’s Important: Autograph has exclusive rights to make NFTs of some of the top athletes of all time. Autograph has deals with Brady, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter and Tony Hawk.

Autograph also signed a deal with Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF-A)LGFB to create NFT content based on the company’s portfolio of television and movies. Lionsgate properties include "The Hunger Games," "Dirty Dancing," "Rambo IV," "Rambo V," "Twilight," "Mad Men" and "John Wick."

“DraftKings Marketplace will sit at the center of this technological and cultural phenomenon, providing our immense existing customer base with an easily accessible experience that rivals all legacy marketplace,” Kalish said.

Users will need a registered DraftKings account to buy and sell the NFTs. Similar to DraftKings gaining sports betting customers from its existing daily fantasy sports customer list, DraftKings could get a foothold on gaining future customers in states that have not legalized sports betting.

By having a platform for daily fantasy sports, sports betting and NFTs, DraftKings could stay ahead of competitors in the sports betting market.

More details will be announced next month.

DKNG Price Action: DKNG shares are up 3% to $47.23 at time of publication.