SNEAK PEEK
- Sorare’s fantasy soccer players can purchase and use official Premier League-licensed NFTs.
- The downturn in crypto prices has exacerbated the decline in NFT prices.
- CEO Nicolas Julia says Sorare’s “free-to-play” mode is gaining popularity as players are no longer competitive with paid-for cards.
Sorare, the $4.3 billion virtual soccer game, has secured a multi-year agreement with the Premier League to license official player cards. The multi-year deal allows players to buy and use NFTs with Premier League licenses.
Five-a-side fantasy soccer matches are available through the Paris-based firm Sorare, which has 3 million players worldwide. The real-time on-field performance of players determines the likelihood of success.
Julia claimed that the Premier League already had an NFT deal with another business. Nicolas Julia, the CEO of Sorare, argued that the Premier League already had an NFT licensing arrangement with another company.
An NFT’s average selling price in December 2022 was $143.22, down 63% from December 2021’s average of $383.73, according to the data website CryptoSlam.
Additionally, less trading is taking place. NFT sales decreased 78% in December, from $3.1 billion to $678.2 million.
Moreover, Julia stated,
Sorare has trended extremely differently than the rest of the space.
The network processed $500 million in card transactions, doubling to $270 million in 2021.
High-spending power users create income. All transactions made through Sorare’s service are subject to an undisclosed cut.
According to CryptoSlam statistics, Sorare has the world’s third-largest NFT collection. The company executes about $1 million in transactions daily.
The Premier League’s partnership with Sorare is the most recent of several deals between sports leagues and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Julia claimed that because Sorare’s company licenses intellectual property rather than sponsors, he was unaffected by the crash in sports-related cryptocurrency advertising.
In September 2021, investors last gave the French business a valuation of $4.3 billion. Leading companies like Japan’s SoftBank and Benchmark and Accel provide venture capital for Sorare. Sports icons Kylian Mbappe, Serena Williams, and Lionel Messi are all owners.
