Paying Off: Sorare's NFT fantasy sports valuation hits $4.3 billion
Exploring Sorare's success in combining NFTs and fantasy sports and its implications for the future of sports collectibles.
NFT platform Sorare has been one of the success stories to come out of the NFT world in these formative years for the industry. If you’re unaware, Sorare is the next evolution in fantasy sports following the huge rise in popularity from Web2 brands like DraftKings and FanDuel.
The platform delivers a system to
“Collect, play and win officially licensed digital Cards featuring the world's best global football, NBA and MLB players.”
Sorare is a platform for fantasy football (soccer) that uses NFTs to represent players and teams. The NFTs allow players to own and trade unique digital cards, with the scarcity and collectibility of the cards driving their value. Sorare has quickly grown into a major player in the NFT space, with investors including Benchmark, Accel, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, star footballer Antoine Griezman, and a guy called Lionel Messi who also acts as a brand ambassador.
Sorare's initial success was due in part to its focus on a single sport, football (soccer), and its partnerships with major football leagues and teams around the world. The platform now has partnerships with over 300 clubs and leagues, including Germany’s Bundesliga and the English Premier League. In 2022, they decided to expand beyond European football into U.S. sports, opening games with Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Launched in September, the NBA game single-handedly attracted over 260,000 players by the end of Q4, in total, the platform now has over 3 million users.
Sorare's unique combination of fantasy sports and NFTs has proven to be a winning formula, with the company recently raising $680 million in a funding round led by SoftBank. The company's valuation now stands at $4.3 billion, making it one of the most valuable NFT-focused startups in the world.
Sorare's success is a testament to the growing interest in NFTs and the potential for these unique digital assets to revolutionize the world of sports memorabilia and collectables. As more sports teams and leagues embrace NFTs, platforms like Sorare are likely to continue to grow in popularity and value.
To learn more check out Sorare
Thanks for reading, David Skilling.
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