The world of sports has been captivated by the rising trend of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), with renowned athletes like Tom Brady taking center stage in this digital marketplace. Just before the Super Bowl, a noteworthy NFT featuring Tom Brady was sold for $40,000, underscoring the increasing interest and value placed on digital collectibles within the sports community.
Dapper Labs, a prominent blockchain company in the NFT ecosystem, has reinvigorated the NFT phenomenon ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday. Reports indicate that the creator of the NFTs is leveraging the event to promote promotional drops associated with this major athletic event.
The web3 firm’s sports-themed digital-collectible brand, NFL All Day, first introduced promotional packs of NFTs during the playoffs of the professional football league in January. This move seems to have contributed to the collection’s success, with several high-profile sales, including the sale of a non-fungible token featuring Tom Brady for over $40,000.
Dapper Labs also reported that a comparable NFT featuring quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sold for $34,000. Since the start of the NFL regular season in September, Dapper Labs’ NFT All Day, which offers digital memorabilia of video highlights on an open marketplace, has generated approximately $10 million in sales.
The growing momentum in Dapper Labs’ promotional activities suggests that the Web3 company aims to capitalize on America’s biggest athletic event to its advantage. The Super Bowl, taking place in Las Vegas on Sunday, features the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs. Many consider it a prime annual marketing opportunity in the United States.
According to reports, the blockchain startup has created NFTs depicting historic moments in the careers of legendary Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks like Joe Montana and John Elway. Furthermore, Dapper Labs has enlisted the support of two Hall of Fame inductees to promote these digital collectibles, as seen in a post by NFL All Day on X (previously Twitter). This event could signify a resurgence for NFTs following a prolonged downturn in the digital collectible market.
It is worth noting that Dapper Labs, like Montana and Elway, chose not to use the abbreviation “NFT” when promoting its collections. During the crypto downturn, the term “NFT” acquired a negative connotation among some individuals.
Dapper Labs’ ability to convince sports icons to endorse its digital products, minted on the Flow blockchain, can be seen as a triumph in the Web3 space.
According to a CNN report from February 2, several companies that have secured commercial slots for the 2024 Super Bowl have no connection to financial technology. Paul Hardart, a clinical professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, suggests that “fun, humor, and entertainment” will likely dominate Super Bowl LVIII advertising.
The absence of crypto ads indicates a significant shift away from artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto entities. In 2022, crypto entities such as FTX, eToro, Crypto.com, and Coinbase debuted ads during the Super Bowl LVI. However, following the collapse of the crypto exchange, FTX faced multiple lawsuits from investors, prompting comedian Larry David to admit in 2024 that he was “an idiot” for appearing in the humorous FTX ad.
Advertisements from BMW, Budweiser, State Farm, Oreo, DoorDash, and Hellman’s Mayonnaise are expected to air during the 2024 Super Bowl. It is reported that a 30-second spot will cost up to $7 million.
The game is anticipated to attract a large viewership, partly due to the presence of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose partner Travis Kelce plays tight end for the Chiefs. Swift will be flying directly to Las Vegas from Japan, where she has a scheduled concert the day before the event.
Moreover, beauty firms like NYX and e.l.f. have purchased ad slots to target younger audiences, particularly female fans of Taylor Swift.
