Earlier this week, the Green Bay Packers welcomed in a new group of owners. For the 6th time in franchise history, the Packers sold stock to help raise funds for facility management. OTL on ESPN reported that the Packers had sold over $10 million in stock in the first three hours of the sale. Packers running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon even got in on the action, becoming the first ever player/owners in the NFL (according to my research, and by research I mean my assumptions that no other NFL owners played in the NFL).
While it is fun to make jokes and poke fun at the NFL’s smallest market team and the people who purchased worthless stock, the Packers are doing something bigger here. They are strengthening their communities. I saw a clip on Twitter from Andrew Brandt who was appearing on Ross Tucker’s podcast. In it, Brandt discusses an interaction he had online with one of his followers who called the Packers stock sale the original Non-Fungible Token (NFT). That is exactly right.
I briefly discussed NFTs in a post earlier this week about brand management and social media presence online. The ownership of NFTs is a way for a person to own a piece of digital property. In the context of sports, this could allow people to own digital trading cards (more on this below) or own tokens that give them behind the scenes access to players and teams. For the Packers, their shareholders get to submit a proxy vote for the team’s management and to attend an annual meeting at Lambeau Field. It also strengthens their community. Fans love to brag that they are an owner. Most people have their certificates framed in their man caves (or in some cases, their living rooms).
NFTs are a way for an artist or other creator to sell digital art. For athletes, their art is their performance on the field or court. The NBA was the first to capitalize on this, selling officially licensed highlights on Top Shot to the tune of over $230 million. Other leagues are already trying to catch up after seeing the massive success the NBA had in this space.
European football (read: soccer) took this concept one step further. Sorare, a French based company, has created a merger between fantasy sports and digital trading cards. Members of Sorare can buy and sell player cards with the intent of building the best team. Sorare then uses actual statistics from live games as digital managers compete with one another online. A Cristiano Ronaldo card recently sold for almost $300,000. Sorare has recently secured another round of funding as they look to spread into other sports leagues. I believe this will be the future of fantasy sports.
Individual athletes would be wise to look to similar opportunities in this new digital world. And remember, there is more than money to be earned here. The athlete has an opportunity to really create his brand and to create a community of diehard fans that will support the athlete long after his career is over.
For a great additional resource on this topic, check out this great Tim Ferris podcast.