In 2022, it was predicted that the global sports industry will be worth $500 billion, and this sector is now expanding to include sports NFTs. In the sports sector, NFTs include player picture artwork, tokenized trading cards, and other digital collectibles with the owner's individual ownership rights recorded on the blockchain. Many sports figures currently think about NFT as a potential asset.
The excitement surrounding NFT started to gain momentum in 2021 and is still continuing strong in 2022. The list of prominent sports figures who have dabbled in NFT is shown below.
Top 5 Sports Figures Owning NFT in 2022
After winning the world cup, Messi effectively put an end to the GOAT discussion. The NFT line by Lionel Messi, dubbed "the best footballer in the world," had its debut in August 2021. "Man from the Future," "Worth the Weight," and "The King Piece," three digital artworks from the artist BossLogic's collection, depicting crucial moments in the football player's career. His star power was evident in the NFTs' sales, which soared to US $3.4 million on the first day of the introduction. In addition to Messi, several soccer players buy NFT.
Shaquille, a famous commercial pitchman and four-time NBA champion, is the proud owner of an NFT from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club offshoot collection. Shaq launched his own NFTs utilizing the Ethernity Chain platform and for a moment utilized a Creature World NFT as his Twitter avatar. The greatest part is that he bought it in September for a relatively cheap $14,000 worth of ETH, and his OpenSea wallet name is "manofdominance."
A collection of 2,974 NFTs, each selling for US$333, were personally released by Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry. Curry's collection includes digital reproductions of his shoe line, Genesis Curry Flows, which depict the precise pairs he worn for his incredible on-court exploits. despite the fact that the collection has already sold out. The virtual sneakers guarantee their fans that they would utilize and display them in different metaverses and virtual games.
Neymar Jr. is one of the top soccer players in the world. He created a sensation by joining the Bored Ape Yacht Club on January 20. However, he spent more than $1 million in ETH to buy two apes. Pink bubble-blowing bubble-blowing bored ape #6633 with holographic glasses and a party hat. To his 55 million fans, it nonetheless served as his official entry announcement. He owns the laser-eyed #5269 as well.
Dez Bryant, a former All-Pro NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys, purchased Bored Ape Yacht Club #2902 in July 2021. But it didn't take long for their worth to increase by 2000% more. That investment was among the finest NFT investors, whether you were an athlete or not.
Bryant introduced Personal Corner, a tool for producing dynamic athlete NFTs. They experience attribute changes over the course of the NFL season depending on the touchdowns, tackles, interceptions, and overall performance of the player they represent. The platform incorporates Chainlink technology.
