DraftKings Pushes Further Into NFTs, Could Bring NFTs To Fantasy Football

A leader in sports betting and daily fantasy sports is pushing further into the non-fungible token space with a new partnership signed with the National Football Players Association (NFLPA). Here are the details of the deal.

What Happened: OneTeam Partners, the group licensing partner for the NFLPA, announced a partnership with Draftkings Inc DKNG Tuesday.

The new NFTs will launch on the DraftKings Marketplace and will be powered by Polygon MATIC/USD for the 2022-23 NFL season.

DraftKings will have licensing rights for active NFL players, including the use of name, image and likeness.

“The future of fandom is unfolding in front of us, and few organizations beyond DraftKings are as equipped to capitalize on the increasing intersection between sports and NFTs that will be cornerstones of engagement and entertainment within Web3,” said Beth Beiriger, DraftKings' senior vice president of products.

NFTs will have the ability to be “gamified,” which DraftKings said could include customers using them in games against each other.

“We will continuously adapt, innovate and seek progressive collaborators like the NFLPA and OneTeam to reach early adopters among fanbases and ultimately introduce these next-generation products to the masses.”

NFT owners will also be able to buy and sell the NFTs on the marketplace.

DraftKings announced a strategic agreement with Polygon earlier this year to launch a “scalable, eco-friendly blockchain solution” that has lower transaction fees and expanded features.

Related Link: DraftKings NFTs Launching With Autograph, The Tom Brady Collection: What Investors Should Know 

Why It’s Important: DraftKings is a leader in daily fantasy sports and sports betting. The company is an official daily fantasy and sports betting partner of the NFL.

DraftKings is one of the two largest players in the daily fantasy sports space with Flutter Entertainment ADR PDYPY-owned FanDuel. The strong leadership in daily fantasy sports provided a great source of customer acquisition when DraftKings launched into sports betting.

DraftKings could cross-promote its NFT marketplace to its existing daily fantasy sports and sports betting customers.

If DraftKings can connect its new NFTs into fantasy sports, it could see existing customers who may have stayed away from NFTs before seeing interest.

DraftKings partnered with Autograph earlier this year to launch NFTs of several of the best-known former and current athletes. The initial launch of Tom Brady NFTs on the DraftKings Marketplace in August was met with strong demand and received strong reviews for the ease of use of the platform.

NBA Top Shot parent company Dapper Labs has also signed a deal with the NFL to bring NFTs from players to collectors and investors. Top Shot launched games for its NBA NFTs that include a gamification element, which could make DraftKings and Dapper Labs competitors in the space.

Price Action: As of Tuesday morning at publication, DKNG shares are up 2.76% to $31.56. MATIC is up 26.08% to $2.47 at the time of writing.

Photo: DraftKings headquarters