DraftKings officially unveiled their new NFT vertical on Tuesday, beginning with Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky.
DraftKings opening up NFT marketplace today. Will start selling NFTs of first athlete, Tom Brady, in US dollars tomorrow.
Editions range from $12 (out of 5000) to $1,500 (out of 12). pic.twitter.com/CWBqsndCMZ
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 10, 2021
Please refer to our Tampa Bay Buccaneers page for odds, insights, and updates.
July 21 Original Post
DraftKings announced the launch of an entirely new vertical on Wednesday morning, revealing that they would enter the digital collectible space and launch an NFT marketplace.
“Our customers, during the COVID period, spent a lot of time and money in the emerging tech space, crypto and digital collectibles,” said DraftKings co-founder and president Matt Kalish. “We went from fantasy to sports betting and we think there’s an opportunity to extend our brand even more in an area that fits our customers' lifestyle.”
In the coming days, DraftKings will offer its users curated NFT drops thanks to a partnership with Autograph, an NFT company founded by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, which has exclusive NFT deals with Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter, Naomi Osaka and Tony Hawk.
Once launched, DraftKings customers using cash already deposited in their accounts from fantasy and sports betting can buy and sell NFTs without having to use any crypto.
And it won’t only be sports. The deal includes a partnership with Lionsgate to allow those who collect digital to buy snippets of entertainment clips from films such as The Hunger Games, the Twilight Saga, Mad Men and Dirty Dancing.
While the heat over NFTs has slowed down since it’s height earlier this year, Kalish says he isn’t concerned about it being a bubble.
“The use case is so strong,” Kalish said. “This market has had unbelievable growth. It’s worth billions of dollars and has grown more than tenfold year over year.”
