Time for the NHL to dive into NFTs — The Fourth Period

TORONTO, ON — By now, you should have heard of different forms of crypto currency and NFTs. If you haven’t, let me give you a brief lesson: an NFT is a non-fungible token, which is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset and is unique to itself. Think of it as an online trading card with a currency value – a photo or video, even music.

This year, 2021 saw NFTs blow up left and right to a point it was very difficult to keep up with. Some NFTs were bought for around $5 and sold a few months later for $50,000 and even upwards of $200,000. It is quite remarkable the amount of money that has been spent on non-tangible items.

How does this relate to sports? Well, there have been a few leagues that have tried NFT. Thus far, ‘NBA Top Shot’ has proven to be one of the most successful and popular since their launch; most of their NFT drops sold out in minutes. They have since added the WNBA to the fold.

Topps has also gotten involved recently with the MLB and the Bundesliga, the top soccer league in Germany.

These NFTs have created massive amounts of revenue for leagues as every NFT sold results in a kickback to the league for selling off its assets and likeness. When you own an NFT, no matter if it is a highlight or trading card; it belongs to you and you have the rights to display or use that material how you wish. You can sell it, display it or turn your NFT into a video or other forms of art.

The NHL has been looking into creating its own version of ‘NBA Top Shot’ since the spring, speaking with multiple NFT creation companies, including Dapper Labs, who created the NBA’s platform.

With the boom of the NFT world earlier this calendar year, we do not know exactly how long it may last. The NHL certainly wants to capitalize on this market, so they need to strike the iron when it is hot.

Understandably, entering the blockchain community comes with many hoops in order to clear the rights to sell highlights from various partnered networks and online streaming services. However, it has shown to be profitable and in less than one year, the NBA has sold more than $700 million in NFTs. We may not see numbers quite as high with the NHL, but it can definitely help grow the game. I know many people that knew nothing about the NBA and still bought NBA Top Shot NFTs and many of them began to watch basketball. Engaging in this space allowed NFT owners to track some of the player highlights they own, as their investments increase in value the better a player performs.

The NHL will begin to see a big influx of revenue this season with new U.S.-based television broadcast partners ESPN/Disney and Turner Sports, new sponsors, Seattle’s hockey related revenues kicking in, and more. Adding the potential of another nine-figures in revenue, per year, wouldn’t hurt.

We have already witnessed some players, such as Matthew Tkachuk, Tyler Seguin and Auston Matthews, that have sold their own independent, non-team/league branded NFTs and they did well – Tkachuk’s top piece sold for $27,954.

With the NHL on board, having high-end stars already on board with the idea is huge and can really help establish a strong setting even before they launch.

The NHL wants to introduce this at some point this season. The sooner, the better.