The English Premier League and Sorare have entered into an agreement for the production and distribution of unique digital collectibles. The licensing agreement allows the blockchain-based fantasy gaming company to sell digital sports cards. In addition, the collectibles would include players from each of the main football league’s 20 clubs.
The licensing agreement between the Paris-based company Sorare and the Premier League will reportedly remain in place for a period of four years, as stated in a blog post written by Sorare. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the Premier League will also be given the opportunity to purchase a share of the stock in the French fantasy gaming platform.
According to a report from City A.M., the value of the arrangement is close to £30 million each year, but the specific amount has not yet been announced. If this were to go through, the total value of the transaction would skyrocket to £120 million.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Premier League, Richard Masters, made the following statement:
The manner in which fans follow the games of their favorite clubs and players is changing, and the Premier League is continually seeking new methods to interact with its followers. We consider Sorare to be the perfect business partner for the Premier League, and we are excited about the prospect of cooperating closely with them.
Users will be able to collect and exchange digital sports cards depicting professional athletes such as Marcus Rashford and N’Golo Kanté of Manchester United and Chelsea, respectively. The well-known footballers Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are only two of the prominent athletes who have invested in Sorare.
The Softbank Vision Fund, Accel, and Benchmark are just a few of the other investors that have contributed to the total investment of $680 million. In 2021, the valuation of the company that specializes in fantasy games was $4.3 billion.
In October 2022, details of the arrangement became public for the first time after it was revealed by SkyNews that the Premier League had terminated a similar deal with the blockchain company Consensys. After a drop in NFT values, the league decided to sign the contract with Sorare in response to attempts by Consensys to renegotiate the terms of the agreement at a cheaper price.
The decision made by the Premier League to pursue an NFT agreement in the middle of a tumultuous market for digital collectibles will assist in restoring investors’ faith in the sector.
