Global Sports NFT Trade to Cross $2bn in 2022: Deloitte

The global sports NFT market will see its transaction volume reach over $2 billion this year, double the amount in 2021, Deloitte's Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions 2022 said.

The report released December last year estimated that between four and five million sports fans globally will have purchased or been gifted an NFT sports collectible by the end of 2022.

"Interest in sports NFTs is likely to be spurred by activity in the wider NFT market, including that for digital art, the top five most valuable sales of which had generated over $100 million by August 2021," it said.

In 2022, the report predicted the sale of limited-edition video clips of sporting moments or playing cards to be the most "common and lucrative" application of NFTs in the sports industry.

Sports have gained increasing traction over the past few months in the Metaverse and NFT space. In January, TNNS Pro announced the launch of a sports NFT platform focusing on athletes.

Sports betting firm Entain also said it was planning to "develop gaming and interactive entertainment products for the Metaverse" with a budget of $133 million.

In addition, the Deloitte report said that 2022 would see most sports-related NFT activities with the largest fan bases and revenues, including football (soccer), basketball, baseball, American football, and ice hockey.

"Over time, however, all sports are likely to have some form of NFT offering. These can be to commemorate a single event, be it a Formula 1 driver attaining a record number of world championships or a football player scoring their hundredth international goal," it said.