The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) struck a deal with Canada-based Dapper Labs to create exclusive digital video highlight NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for fans around the world, according to a press release.
The system was designed to drive fan engagement by paving the way for fans to collect digital video moments of most memorable plays of the season by using Dapper Labs' cutting-edge blockchain technology.
"We are thrilled to partner with Dapper Labs in its launch of NFL digital video collectibles," Joe Ruggiero, senior vice president of consumer products at the NFL, said in the release. "We believe blockchain technology has great potential to enhance the NFL fan experience in the future, and we are excited to have Dapper Labs as one of our first collaborators in exploring this emerging space."
Dapper Labs executives were also excited about the new partnership that allows fans to collect epic plays in National Football League (NFL) history.
"From the Hail Murray to the Minneapolis Miracle, magic happens in NFL stadiums" Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs, said. "As a league that continually raises the bar, we are proud that the NFL and NFLPA have chosen Dapper Labs to deliver for NFL fans worldwide the moments they've been waiting for. We can't wait to give the more than 300 million NFL fans the opportunity to own the game that matters to them and engage with the sport in a whole new way."
The NFL's marketing arm was also optimistic about the prospects of the partnership.
"The irreplaceable nature of the NFT captures what is special about sports fandom. Our players are immensely excited for the NFLPA— in working with our enterprising partners at Dapper Labs and OneTeam — to make this significant push into the digital collectibles market," Steve Scebelo, president, NFL Players Inc., said in the release. "The unique greatness of NFL players will continue to fuel memorable moments both in history and in real-time during the season, which will only deepen the connections they have with their passionate fans."
What's available to fans is a whole range of all-new digital collectibles from outstanding game moments from leading players all season long. Both present-day champs and legends before them will be the focus of this partnership.
Those behind the effort see this as a new way for NFL's more than 300 million fans to own the game they love and discover a novel means to participate.
Technology also allows fans to collect video moments of greatest plays in history. In business since 2018, Dapper Labs' studio partners include the National Basketball Association, and Women's National Basketball Association, Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, Genies and Ultimate Fighting Championship.