Premier League Signs Deal With NFT-Based Fantasy Soccer Game Despite Crypto Market Downturn

Sorare, the fantasy soccer game worth $4.3 billion, has made a multi-year deal with the Premier League. This deal will allow the Premier League to license official player cards.
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Under an exclusive multi-year agreement, players of the game will be able to purchase and use official Premier League-licensed NFTs.
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Sorare, a Paris-based startup with 3 million users worldwide, offers fantasy soccer games of five a side. The chances of success are based on the real-time performance of players on the pitch.
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Sorare announced the launch of two new features in the game, which include the ability to compete with league-specific player cards and a "financial fair play" feature that prevents users from selecting all-star teams.
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Sorare was first rumored to be in talks with the Premier League — the top tier of England's men's soccer leagues — about a licensing agreement in Oct. 2022. Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia said things took longer to wrap up than anticipated as the Premier League had an existing NFT licensing deal with another firm. Sorare finally secured the licensing agreement in March of 2023.
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Earlier, Sky News reported that the deal was worth £30 million. Julia declined to share specifics on the financial terms and length of the deal.
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Despite a sharp slump in NFT trading activity, the news remains positive. This is a good sign for the future of the industry, and we remain hopeful that the market will rebound soon.
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NFT values have plummeted amid a downturn in crypto prices known as the "crypto winter," exacerbated in recent months by the bankruptcy of major exchange FTX.
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Microsoft's recent focus on artificial intelligence has some analysts bullish on the stock, even after lackluster earnings.
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Mizuho predicts that Coinbase shares will be cut nearly in half as retail traders shun crypto.
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CryptoSlam data shows that the average selling price of an NFT in December 2022 was $143.22, a 63% decrease from the December 2021 price of $383.73.
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NFT sales have declined significantly in recent months, falling 78% to $678.2 million in December from $3.1 billion a year ago. This has led to a decrease in trading volumes as well.
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Julia said that Sorare has "trended very differently from the rest of the space." According to her, the total exchanges of cards on the platform amounted to $500 million last year, almost doubling from $270 million in 2021.
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The company has observed a change in how its players use the game, with more people opting for the free-to-play mode where they don't have to compete against those who have paid for cards.
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According to Julia, 87% of Sorare players don't spend any money on the platform.
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This raises an obvious question about the sustainability of Sorare's model: how does it make money when most of its users aren't transacting?
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Julia said that the big-spending power users were enough to anchor income generation. Sorare takes a cut of all transactions made through its service, though the exact amount is not specified.
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Sorare is one of the world's largest NFT collections, according to CryptoSlam data. The company processes approximately $1 million in transactions every 24 hours, CryptoSlam's figures show.
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The Premier League has partnered with Sorare, adding to a growing number of deals between sports leagues and cryptocurrency platforms. This partnership will allow fans to use Sorare’s blockchain-based platform to trade digital collectibles of their favorite Premier League players.
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Sorare has announced deals with Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. This is a big step for the company, as it looks to expand its reach into the world of professional sports.
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As crypto prices have plunged, some sponsorship deals have soured, like Crypto.com's deal for the naming rights to the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles and FTX's now-defunct sponsorship of the Miami-Dade Arena.
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Julia said that Sorare was sheltered from the fallout of the crypto crash because his firm focuses on licensing intellectual property rather than sponsorships.
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Sorare, a French startup, was last valued by investors at $4.3 billion in September 2021. The company is backed by top names including Japan’s SoftBank and venture capital firms Accel and Benchmark. It also counts sports stars Lionel Messi, Serena Williams and Kylian Mbappe as shareholders.
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Sorare has been controversial, with accusations that it encourages gambling.
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The U.K. Gambling Commission is investigating the firm "to establish whether Sorare.com requires an operating license or whether the services it provides do not constitute gambling," according to an Oct. 8, 2021 notice. This is to ensure that the company is following the proper procedures and regulations in regards to gambling.
Julia said that she was not yet able to provide an update on the status of the U.K. inquiry.
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In November, the startup committed to making some changes to its platform after action taken by the French National Gambling Authority. Those included strengthening the free-to-play elements of the game. The company is required to enforce these measures by March 31.
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The recent collapse of FTX has sent shockwaves through the crypto community. Many are wondering if this is the beginning of the end for the industry. While the future is uncertain, it's clear that the crypto world is in for a rough ride.