AFL Set to Launch NFT Collection with 20% of Revenue Going to the Players
In a goal kicked firmly between the posts for the code’s ongoing NFT adoption, the Australian Football League (AFL) has struck a unique revenue-distribution deal that could see players get 20 percent of the spoils from the sale of non-fungible tokens associated with the sport.
It’s a Goal for NFTs, the AFL and Animoca Brands
CEO Gillon McLachlan has revealed that the AFL has plans in place to team up with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, one of the world’s leading blockchain gaming and NFT studios, collectively worth more than US$5 billion.
McLachlan has also confirmed that a deal with the AFL Players Association will ensure that players receive a 20 percent cut of the revenue derived from the sales of official AFL NFTs.
And for all the fans out there still talking about the 1,000-goal milestone achieved by Sydney Swan Lance “Buddy” Franklin (pictured, below), there will be an NFT for that, and multiple other NFTs based around the March 25 event.
“There’ll be a Buddy 1,000 NFT,” confirmed McLachlan, adding: “The team is working on that at the moment. There’ll be lots of NFTs that come out of that because it was a pretty unique event. That was one that will have a lot of value.”
It looks like the Sydney star’s 1,000th-goal NFT will entail a range of different takes on his achievement, which could include animation or perhaps video footage.
“There’ll be one official NFT of him kicking that [1,000th] goal. Whether it’s animated [or not], there’ll be different versions of it,” McLachlan said. He also hinted that there will be plenty of other AFL NFTs to be sold at reasonable prices, and “some unique stuff that will be among some of the most expensive [NFTs] we do”.
AFL Approaches Mainstream Crypto Adoption
As Ben Simpson, CEO of Melbourne-based crypto research and education platform Collective Shift, has said, “I think we’re really starting to hit mainstream adoption in crypto and NFTs.” He pointed out that cryptocurrency companies now account for a significant percentage of the AFL’s major sponsors.
Two months ago, the AFL signed an A$25 million five-year sponsorship deal with Crypto.com, and the Australian digital assets exchange Swyftx also announced a major two-year partnership with the Brisbane Lions. Other AFL clubs, including premier Melbourne, the West Coast Eagles, Adelaide Crows, Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs, also have crypto sponsors.
“What is most exciting in my opinion about NFTs in sport is that the players can take a share of the revenue of all sales of those NFTs forever. Lance [Franklin] will earn a direct percentage cut from that 1,000th-goal NFT,” Simpson said. He added that in the past, only the sporting organisations or governing bodies took revenue and profits, but NFTs and smart contracts can enable a percentage of the revenues to be distributed to players.
Matt Willemsen, head of research at Collective Shift, spoke in a YouTube video about the revenue-distribution aspect of the deal: