The NHL just announced that they are launching an NFT project in partnership with Sweet marketplace to create digital collectibles. These will apparently include “everything from iconic moments in hockey history to 3D interactive trophy rooms where users can display their collections.” The announcement was made during NFT-NYC and the Stanley Cup Finals last week.
Sweet is an NFT marketplace like OpenSea or SuperRare, though smaller than its competitors, it allows users to trade items with crypto as well as using a credit card. Moreover, Sweet seems to be particularly popular for sport-related NFT projects. This includes several NFT collectibles from Formula 1 and NBA teams.
Digital collectibles have been taking over the sports industry for the last couple of years. For example, the NBA has its “Top Shot” collection and the NFL has its “All Day” collection. Additionally, Sorare has been partnering with multiple soccer clubs across Europe.
People have collected trading cards for decades, and the market for those cards has continued to boom over the last few years. Officially licensed NFT digital collectibles serve a lot of the same purposes. Additionally, other sports leagues have hinted at broader ambitions for NFTs, like turning tickets into digital assets or using them to create communities among fans. We have seen many use cases for NFTs serving as tickets for events or communities for popular influencers.
