The English Premier League and Sorare, a $4.3 billion fantasy football game company, have agreed to sign a multi-year deal, under which the Premier League will license official player cards. Under the agreement, gamers will be able to purchase and use NFTs that are officially licensed by the prestigious soccer league.
People can participate in five-a-side fantasy football matches through Paris-based startup Sorare. The company currently has 3 million users worldwide. A player's performance on the field today determines the likelihood of success.
In addition, the Ethereum-based fantasy sports game has announced that it will be adding two additional features to the game. This includes the opportunity to compete using league-specific player cards and a feature called "financial fair play" that restricts users from choosing a team made up of all top players.
In October 2022, it was rumored that Sorare was in talks of a licensing deal with the Premier League, which is the top level of football competition in England. To reach a consensus on this matter has taken longer than expected, according to Nicolas Julia, Sorare's CEO. This is due to the fact that the Premier League already has NFT licensing arrangements with other companies.
It is rumored that ConsenSys won the bid for the deal worth as much as UK£400 million or $459 million. However, following the fall in the crypto market, ConsenSys withdrew from this agreement.
According to data provided by CryptoSlam, the Sorare NFT collection is the third largest in the world. The company was found to handle about one million dollars of transactions in a single day. Investment firms Accel and Benchmark, as well as Japan's SoftBank, are among the leading organizations that have invested in Sorare. In addition, famous athletes such as Lionel Messi, Serena Williams, and Kylian Mbappe are shareholders in the company.
The Premier League's collaboration with Sorare is the latest example of the increasing number of deals taking place between sports leagues and different crypto platforms. In the past, Sorare has announced partnerships with both Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.
