{"id":3193,"date":"2023-01-30T12:01:35","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T12:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/30\/premier-league-backs-sorares-nft-fantasy-football-game-despite-crypto-crash\/"},"modified":"2023-01-30T12:01:35","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T12:01:35","slug":"premier-league-backs-sorares-nft-fantasy-football-game-despite-crypto-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/30\/premier-league-backs-sorares-nft-fantasy-football-game-despite-crypto-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League backs Sorare\u2019s NFT fantasy football game despite crypto crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The English Premier League has struck a multimillion-pound deal with Sorare, the blockchain-based fantasy sports game, as the world\u2019s most popular football league bets that trading in digital collectibles will survive beyond the current crypto slump.<\/p>\n

Paris-based Sorare \u2014 which is backed by star players<\/a> including Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Lionel Messi \u2014 announced a four-year licensing contract with the Premier League on Monday. Users will be able to collect and trade digital cards representing players from all 20 English top-tier teams and use them in its fantasy football game. <\/p>\n

Sorare will pay the Premier League<\/a> tens of millions of pounds a year to secure the rights, according to people familiar with the agreement, with each year\u2019s final payment dependent on performance. <\/p>\n

Under the deal, the Premier League also has an option to take an equity stake in Sorare. The start-up was last valued at $4.3bn in 2021, when SoftBank\u2019s Vision Fund, Benchmark, Accel and others invested a total of $680mn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said: \u201cThe way that supporters follow their favourite teams and players is evolving and the Premier League is always looking for ways to engage with fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the deal comes after the bankruptcy of crypto platform FTX led to renewed scrutiny of partnerships between sports and the nascent crypto sector. <\/p>\n

FTX sponsored Major League Baseball and signed endorsements with celebrities in the hope of targeting sports fans. A report by IMG-owned sports consultancy Seven League said the collapse in crypto prices had hurt the appetite for digital sports collectibles. <\/p>\n

Sorare\u2019s cards use the same \u201cnon-fungible token\u201d technology to verify ownership as high-valued NFT<\/a> collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, many of which have seen extreme price volatility in the aftermath of scandals at FTX and other crypto exchanges over the past year. <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tNicolas Julia. Sorare\u2019s co-founder and chief executive. The Premier League is Sorare\u2019s third big new partner in 12 months \u00a9 Patricia de Melo\/AFP\/Getty Images
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Sorare\u2019s co-founder and chief executive Nicolas Julia said his company was different to other crypto start-ups because its tokens had utility beyond mere price speculation, in a fantasy game that has attracted more than 3mn sign-ups since the company was founded in 2018. He would not provide an active user figure. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be frank, I don\u2019t love the craziness of the last six to 18 months [in crypto],\u201d said Julia. \u201cYou get lots of organisations and companies thinking short term and jumping into the new cool tech for the wrong reasons, then leaving fans with a bad taste in their mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Premier League is Sorare\u2019s third big new partner in 12 months after teaming with US leagues the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. <\/p>\n

During the mania of the past two years, crypto groups forged alliances directly with several Premier League teams, including Tezos\u2019s sponsorship deal with Manchester United. <\/p>\n