Golden State Warriors become first professional sports team to launch NFT collection
The Golden State Warriors became the first professional sports team to invest in a nonfungible token (NFT) collection Tuesday morning.
Warriors president Brandon Schneider said the franchise has been studying the rise in value of NFTs over the past several months to discover ways to create an engaging collection catered for fans.
"This is the wave of the future," Schneider told ESPN. "So we've been studying what the best way for us to get involved and create something for our fans is. NFTs have been around for years, but they've really become more mainstream and popular this year."
Golden State will create digital championship rings to commemorate its franchise NBA title squads and also create digital ticket stubs for iconic games like the April 13, 2016 win over the Memphis Grizzlies — the night the franchise broke the NBA single-season record with 73 wins.
The NBA has profited in a large way from the launch of NBA Top Shot, which has brought in around $500 million since the fall. NBA Top Shot, created by Dapper Labs, is a blockchain-based platform that allows fans to buy, sell and trade numbered versions of licensed video highlights.
"The inflection point for us was really just watching NBA Top Shot start to explode," Schneider said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warriors become 1st professional sports team to launch NFT collection
