Welcome to The Hype Report where we break down the latest news, stories & insights at the intersection of sports, artificial intelligence & web3.

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The sports tech space is exploding…

But one of the biggest problems I’ve noticed is founders need help accessing capital and investors need help finding deal flow.

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Now, let’s get to the report...

Here's What You Need To Know This Week 📝

• The NFLPA Is Owed Over $40 Million From Crypto Collapse 🤯

• FC Barcelona Launches NFT Collection In Association With Plastiks ⚽

• Nike Partners With EA Sports To Bring NFTs To Video Games ✔️

• Quick Hype 🎯

Let's Dive Into It 🤿

The NFLPA Is Owed Over $40 Million From Crypto Collapse 🤯

The NFLPA is coming to collect.

Due to the recent crypto market collapse, the NFLPA has been unable to receive $41.8 million of licensing and sponsorship revenue to pay the union as of the close of its fiscal year.

This represents about a quarter of its commercial revenue based on an analysis of its annual report.

At the beginning of the report, the NFLPA listed $41,799,008 for OneTeam Partners next to accounts receivable, a category for funds owed by customers.

If you divide that amount among the 2,135 active NFL players noted on the annual report, these payments could deprive each player of about $19,578.

What Is OneTeam Partners?

OneTeam Partners is a joint venture started in 2019 by the NFLPA, MLBPA, and RedBird Capital to oversee sports unions’ commercial enterprises.

RedBird Capital cashed out last year with an estimated $600 million profit, a testament to the success of the joint venture.

The group, in addition to the baseball and football unions, now oversees business operations for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, the MLSPA, and the WNBPA, among others.

It also recently moved into the name, image, and likeness space with a deal to pay players $500 to allow their use in the upcoming college football video game.

The unions control group licensing (meaning commercial rights to multiple players) for businesses like video games, trading cards, and apparel.

Last month it was reported that Dapper Labs, the platform for the NBA’s and NFL’s NFTs, and DraftKings’ Reignmakers NFTs had each engaged the NFLPA to renegotiate their deals in light of the plummeting value of the digital assets.

But a report came out this month that Dapper Labs’ NFL NFT was badly missing financial goals.

Cryptocurrencies and NFTs were all the rage two years ago, both soaring in value.

Since they’ve both crashed from those record highs, we’re now seeing the aftermath.

The good news is that the NFLPA and MLBPA have long-running existing CBAs, and NFT revenue is not a main source of revenue.

So even though the loss of NFT payments doesn't feel good, it doesn’t present any great threat to the unions’ bottom line.

The NFLPA’s assets grew from $1.003 billion to $1.055 billion in the most recent fiscal year, also according to the report.

All of this comes as the NFLPA prepares to select a new executive director.

The union has a meeting scheduled for next month when a new executive director might be selected by the 32 player representatives.

We don’t know who’s in the running as of right now, but whoever is chosen will take over for DeMaurice Smith, who’s held the position since 2009.

FC Barcelona Launches NFT Collection In Association With Plastiks ⚽

Plastic waste is a huge global problem.

8 million tons are dumped into the ocean every year which proves the need to improve the plastic economy and find ways to promote a more responsible society in terms of waste.

FC Barcelona, one of the most notable soccer teams in the world, and Plastiks, an NFT Marketplace that connects plastic recovery projects with companies and individuals willing to sponsor their impact, are joining forces to help solve this problem.

And they’re using Web3 to do it.

Together they’re committed to recovering at least 1 million kilograms of plastic.

To achieve this goal, FC Barcelona and Plastiks are offering an exclusive collection of NFTs.

The Unleash Your Passion NFT collection features a total of 3,000 animal-themed pieces of digital art, each of which contributes to removing plastic from our planet.

More than 8,000 kilograms of plastic waste are produced in a single football match.

With this first collection, FC Barcelona and Plastiks are contributing to a reduction in plastic pollution of an amount equivalent to the waste from 4 football matches.

This initiative exemplifies the club's commitment to sustainability, which is one of the core pillars of the club’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.

This collaboration with Plastiks and the launch of this exclusive Unleash Your Passion collection is a major step in furthering their mission.

Benefits associated with the NFT collection

Each NFT represents a unique digital certificate, known as a Plastic Recovery Guarantee, which ensures the recovery of specific types and quantities of plastic from the environment.

Each owner of the NFT will also have access to benefits and rewards including:

• Limited edition content

• Enter a drawing to receive one of 10 shirts signed by some of the FC Barcelona players

The Unleash Your Passion NFT collection is now available at a price of $30 per collectible, through the Plastiks marketplace: GET THE COLLECTION

Why this matters?

Obviously, there is still a lot of speculation around NFTs and their use case.

We’ve talked about ticketing in previous reports almost at nausea, but another example that holds merit is charitable endeavors.

Not only can holders still receive traditional benefits such as tax breaks, but organizations can raise funds in a more transparent way while engaging a new audience and strengthening brand awareness.

And holders have a collectible item they can walk away with.

Here are some of the ways NFTs have been used for charity outside of sports:

• The Giving Block

• F THE NEVERS

• Water Aid

• UkraineDAO

• Charity Navigator

Nike Partners With EA Sports To Bring NFTs To Video Games ✔️

.Swoosh there it is!

Nike, the mega sportswear brand recently announced a collaboration with video game maker EA Sports, with plans to include digital collectibles of Nike-branded gear via the .Swoosh platform into future EA games.

While there hasn’t been any mention of specific games yet, in an announcement post, Nike said that it’s working with the sports video game publisher to “make select .Swoosh virtual creations available” in upcoming EA Sports games.

It also said the two sports brands will “build new immersive experiences” with an emphasis on customization.

On the .Swoosh website, Nike refers to NFTs as Nike virtual creations which include:

• Digital sneakers

• Apparel

• Accessories

• Other collectibles you can wear in games or redeem for access to exclusive products, events, and more

Little else has been publicly revealed about the collaboration so far, but Nike said that more information on its work with EA Sports will be shared “in the coming months.”

EA Sports is a division of game publisher Electronic Arts, home to game franchises like Apex Legends, The Sims, and Battlefield.

They’ve also released sports games with the Madden NFL, FIFA, NHL, and NASCAR brands since its inception in 1991.

The .SWOOSH platform released its first NFT sneaker collection last week, surpassing $1 million in sales and selling over 97,000 NFTs of “Our Force 1” boxes.

They’ve seen a ton of financial success from its NFT releases so far, gaining over $185 million in total revenue since December 2021 according to a dashboard from Dune Analytics.

Most of that revenue has come from RTFKT, the Web3 startup it acquired that created CloneX NFTs with artist Takashi Murakami, as well as NFT-based CryptoKicks, exclusive physical sneakers that can only be purchased via redeemable NFTs.

Why this matters?

Things have been pretty quiet on the web3 side as of late, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead by any means.

.Swoosh is seeing a ton of success which proves that interest in NFTs isn’t fading.

My prediction is that given the global brand and reputation that Nike has and the userbase that EA Sports commands, this collab will drastically push the exposure of digital assets and change a lot of people’s perspectives.

In a few years, we’ll look back and see this as a big win for the world of Web3.

Quick Hype 🎯

Sports Q&A: How is AI being utilized in sports?

Study: Australia’s sports tech sector worth AUS $4.25 billion.

From cricket to crypto: AB de Villiers ventures into Web3.

Leading Web3 Play-to-Earn game Battle Infinity secures $3.5 Million Investment from Top VC Firm.

Naomi Osaka Partners With Meta on Digital Apparel Collection.

SportsCast Partners with Athlete Studio - Launches Ultimate Digital Sports Media Collectibles.

The Power Of Athletes To Become Media Companies And Transform The Game.

This AI Scouting Platform Puts Soccer Talent Spotters Everywhere.

England men's captain Harry Kane believes AI could be the future of injury prevention in soccer.

NBA Playoffs: How Denver Nuggets' Zeke Nnaji promotes AI and virtual reality.

Thank you for reading!

Talk again next week,

Malcolm

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity. The information shared is my thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor.

The contents of this newsletter also should not be used in any public or private domain without the author's express permission. The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example, research report, consultancy activity, or paywalled article, without the author's express permission.