Looking at the potential of sports NFTs

With the evolution of the digital world, ways of investment and asset ownership are also transforming.

The change is occurring across industries with more people participating in the digital opportunities for investment.

However, as Kalkine Media’s Kunal Sw outlines, the market is both lucrative and fragile so it is essential to look at the necessary details with constant vigilance. 

Among new ways of investment through digital media, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have generated a lot of attention in the market over the past year.

What are NFTs? 
NFTs are non-fungible tokens that are used to reproduce exclusive photographs, videos, audios and the like. NFTs have exclusive data stored in them. Thus, they are unique and interchangeable. Via the blockchain, new NFT owners would know who originally created and owned the NFT. 

Just like people collect valuable items in real life like famous paintings, people collect the same in the digital form - as NFTs. 

Significantly, the NFT market is expected to grow substantially by 2025. 

The evolution of NFTs in the sports world
The introduction of NFTs initially made a hit in the media and entertainment industry. In 2019, NFTs made an entry in the sports market. In the sports industry, fans purchase digital tokens of their teams’ or favourite player’s exclusive autographed jerseys, bats, etc.

Now the market is evolving. After a fury of ups and downs, it is yet to be seen how NFTs perform in the sports world in the long run. According to a McKinsey report, once in 2021, a week sales of sports NFTs in the USA reached US$138 million. 

The marketplace for sports NFTs is exponentially evolving; old platforms like Dapper Labs are receiving competition from new platforms like Candy Digital. Sports NFTs are traded on such platforms. Various cryptocurrency platforms are also planning to launch their NFT trading platforms. 

Sports NFTs from an investor's perspective 
Whether to indulge in sports NFTs or not, is a question several investors, sports enthusiasts and college athletes are pondering upon. Though the market seems promising however it is relatively new; thus, nothing can be assured whether sports NFTs are a movement or just a meme. 

That said, several athletes are cashing in on the NFT game. Athletes are participating in the market by trading their own exclusive clips. Thus, through this, athletes are earning some extra money and fans are getting to endorse their love for sports and investment, altogether. 

However, while the market looks exciting currently, it is not recommended to hold on to sports NFTs for long. As, it is difficult to predict how the market would perform in the following years.

Thus, trading in NFTs in the present realm might be beneficial but not for long term perspective. So, presently, investors should ideally keep NFTs up to a small chunk of their overall investment portfolio. 

Conclusively, the NFT marketplace in the sports world seems promising in the present time. Thus, for starters, investors can look for new opportunities in the marketplace. However, the size of the respective investment should be kept limited as the market is still in the budding stage. 

Additionally, the evolution of NFTs has rewarded the fans, investors, and athletes with a new space where technology is meeting sports in its best form. Thus, the space should be explored and cherished. 

Kalkine Media has also published further information on NFTs.

Click here to read How To Create and Sell an NFT.

Click here to view the top 5 NFT marketplaces to create and trade original work by creators.

Images: Trading NFTs (top, source: Pixabay) and Kunal Sawhney (below, credit: Kalkine Media).