Since at least two players wanted to be paid in bitcoin during contract negotiations earlier last year, the NFL became the first sports league to pay a player in the popular cryptocurrency. With a growing number of footballers showing interest in cryptocurrency payouts, the NFL remains the top choice to become the first league to sign a Bitcoin-based player. Sponsorship of cryptocurrency exchanges remains banned, and the NFL’s idea of creating a cryptocurrency that some fans are claiming is a hoax.
While the NFL is just starting to explore blockchain sponsorship, other leagues and athletes from those leagues have already jumped into the game. In March, the NFL announced that teams could form limited blockchain sponsorships, but for now, there are still bans on cryptocurrency promotions and fan tokens. According to the Benzinga report, the policy currently allows US National Football League players to have crypto and blockchain sponsorship.
In addition, NFL teams are not allowed to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) until the professional football league understands its official digital branding strategy. Teams also cannot sell non-fungible tickets (NFTs) as the NFL strategies in the hot and cold market of digital sports trading cards and art. In the case of cryptocurrencies, the league so far only allows teams to join companies that are one step away from trading and asset managers that sell funds to chart the digital currency markets.
Teams won’t be able to promote cryptocurrencies directly just yet, as the NFL remains wary of areas involving illegal activity before possible regulation. In September, the NFL told teams that they could not sell sponsorships to crypto trading companies until the NFL did a study. Last month, CNBC’s Jabari Yang reported that the NFL said in a memo to all 32 clubs that they can seek blockchain sponsorship but are “banned from directly promoting cryptocurrencies” and fan tokens.
In a statement, the National Football League granted teams limited permission to seek blockchain sponsorship, which has partially changed since late last summer as the technology grows in popularity among fans and organisation athletes. The NFL announced today that it would allow teams to request limited three-year sponsorships from blockchain companies, but the league has maintained its ban on the coin or token promotions. The NFL will now enable cryptocurrency exchanges to do business with NFL teams, but they cannot use the words “crypto” or “cryptocurrency” to describe sponsorship, Ben Fisher tells SBJ. At the end of March, the NFL told teams that it could start signing sponsorship deals with blockchain-related companies and accepting ads for NFTs and NFT companies.
