DraftKings launches NFT marketplace as sector continues to grow

Sports betting operator DraftKings has launched its marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), featuring ‘iconic athletes’ such as the National Football League’s (NFL) Tom Brady.

The marketplace was initially announced last month, offering customers secondary-market transactions and curated NFT drops, designed to boost the mainstream accessibility of the digital products.

Using DraftKings’ platform, fans and collectors can purchase NFT collectibles – categorised as Premier drops and Signature drops, with each featured athlete dropping a limited number – within the PreSeason Access Collection, either by mobile or desktop.

These NFTs will be purchasable in USD at a range of prices, whilst DraftKings’ recent acquisition Scarcity Labs has also been leveraged to support the operator’s NFT expansion and related technologies. 

Additionally, a former Chief Product Officer at Invaluable, has been recruited by the Nasdaq-listed firm as Senior Vice President of Operations for DraftKings Marketplace, with the responsibility of overseeing content strategy and the offering’s long-term roadmap.

Most significantly, however, is the partnership between DraftKings Marketplace and Autograph, the NFT platform co-founded by the aforementioned former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

“Autograph’s Advisory Board includes some of the most iconic athletes ever, and we could not imagine a more fitting figure than Tom Brady to headline our first ever NFT drop on DraftKings Marketplace,” said Matt Kalish, Co-Founder and President of DraftKings. 

“The overall NFT market has already surged to over $2.5 billion in sales volume for the first half of 2021, and so whether someone is well-versed or barely familiar with digital collectibles, we envision DraftKings Marketplace being a premier platform for all within a trend that is decidedly here to stay.”

As a result of the linkup with Autograph, owners of Preseason Access Passes will be granted preferential access to a future drop from Autograph, whilst fans will also have the opportunity to acquire certified authentic content of prominent athletes and collections yet to be released, due to the limited number of Brady NFTs available.

Brady’s NFTs will drop on 11 August, followed by signature editions on 13 August containing the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s authentic digital signature. The next Preseason Access Collection will feature Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) player Wayne Gretzky.

“NFTs bring an entirely new dimension to the collector experience, and I cannot wait for people to discover and engage with this first ever drop of Autograph’s official digital collectibles,” Brady remarked.

“We created Autograph as a way for fans and collectors to own a piece of iconic moments in sports and entertainment through authenticated and official digital collectibles and we are just getting started.”