In Brief:
- NFL has banned teams from accepting cryptocurrency sponsors
- Groups additionally can’t also sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- The restrictions would appear to exclude some of the principal players in crypto, like FTX and Tom Brady
The National Football League (NFL) has banned its teams from selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or accepting sponsorships from cryptocurrency trading firms, according to a report from The Athletic. The rules remain in place, until the NFL develops an official strategy for crypto and NFTs.
Although Players’ individual ventures appear to be excluded from the rule. The policy allows for sponsorships with crypto adjacent companies. However, partnerships with those directly tied to crypto such as exchanges go against the new guidelines.
Clubs are restricted from selling “advertisements for specific cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, other cryptocurrency sales or any other media category as it relates to blockchain, digital asset or as blockchain company,” according to an anonymous team official reading from the guidelines.
The rules exclude most major companies in the crypto space. For example, Tom Brady has an equity stake in FTX, along with ownership of an NFT platform, Autograph. Therefore it’s only a matter of time before NFL teams and crypto companies find their way around the tricky wording.
Other leagues are diving headfirst into the evolving world of digital assets. The NBA has had great success with NBA Top Shot, its vault of NFTs. NBA Top Shot created a partnership between Dapper Labs and the NBA. It hosted $675 million in sales since its beta launch in May 2020.
