The Premier League clubs discussed a major NFT (non-fungible token) deal on Tuesday morning that would potentially see the 20 clubs launch officially branded digital assets within the year that could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. 

The clubs discussed the sale of NFT rights at a shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday morning having previously approached the prospect cautiously given the volatility of the prices of NFTs. They are promoted as unique digital assets stored on the blockchain and traded in cryptocurrencies and a huge new potential source of revenue. 

The NBA, the professional basketball league in the United States, has been swift to embrace the surge in investment in NFTs which are projected to become more commonplace as more web-users invest in the immersive metaverse. The NBA has marketed “Top Shot” as collectable NFTs but instead of the physical trading cards of yore, collectors buy the right to own highlights and clips. It has been claimed that the league has sold out.  

Wealthy footballers have already been promoting and collecting NFTs, with Neymar among those who has promoted the purchase of one of a 10,000 strong collection, the “Bored Ape Yacht Club”. The Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil attacker owns a “Bored Ape” NFT, as does Stephen Curry, one of the NBA’s leading players. 

The Premier League sent a legal warning to John Terry after the former Chelsea captain endorsed his own range of NFTs – Ape Kids Club FC – and was obliged to remove the Premier League trophy from the digital illustrations. The trophy is a licensed trademark which can only be reproduced with the league’s permission.

The Premier League is yet to agree on a blockchain creator that will give the provenance to all the NFTs that it goes on to ask to collectors. Those partnerships have to be decided – as do how the income from those new assets are distributed to clubs and players.