US sportsbook and fantasy football provider DraftKings has launched its non-fungible token (NFT) platform, DraftKings Marketplace, with the inaugural content becoming available to purchase later this week.
DraftKings has teamed up with NFT platform Autograph for the release. The Preseason Access collection was dropped on the 11th of August, and has autographs from top athletes such as Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka, and Tony Hawk amongst others.
A growing interest in the NFT market
Interest in NFTs and the cryptocurrency market has boomed in 2021, and it is an area that is grabbing a lot of interest from many sectors. More and more athletes and artists are choosing to sell their products through an NFT than through traditional means.
NFL legend and Autograph’s co-founder Tom Brady said: “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.”
Matt Kalish, DraftKings’ president and co-founder Matt Kalish said: “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.
“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.”
Those affiliates with an interest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs should keep an eye on the success of ventures such as this. The market is seeing some incredible growth at the moment, and the interest in NFTs will likely drive some intriguing opportunities to follow.
