Sports NFT Market Size, Statistics, Growth Trend Analysis and Forecast Report, 2022 - 2032

Sports NFT Market is segmented by NFT File Type (Video NFT, Image NFT, Audio NFT); by NFT Collectible Type (Trading Card NFTs Market, Memorabilia NFTs, Collectable NFTs); by Seller Type (Auctions Houses, Online NFT Platforms (Generalized), Specialized Sports NFT Websites); by Geography (North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Nordic Region, Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America), Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

  • Report ID : MD2913
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  • Pages : 220
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  • Tables : 60
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  • Formats :

The sports memorabilia market size is US$26 billion in 2021 with NFT sports collectibles currently estimated at US$1.4 billion, which is estimated to double its market size at a 100% growth rate and reach 2.6 billion in 2022. The sports memorabilia market is set to hit US$227.2 billion by 2032 with sports NFT growing at a CAGR of 36.6% and attaining a revenue of US$41.6 billion.   

“Sports NFTs are non-interchangeable and distinct records which are entities preserved on a digital ledger. These NFTs allow fans to get rights to their favorite sports moment by acquiring NFTs of such video moments. NFTs can be stated as digital files that can be reproduced, such as photos, videos, and audio. It uses a virtual ledger to provide a public certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership, but the terms of the data collection file can be shared or copied. Trading cards which are major shareholders in sports memorabilia are already showing a speedy shift from physical to digital space. NFTs have also turned out to be a new source of revenue for athletes, teams, and leagues of various sports.”
sports-NFT-market
“Shift From Physical to Digital and The Impact of Sales Channel”

Physical collectibles like trading cards have a short lifespan as they can be lost or destroyed during the course of their life. This has boosted the market for NFT trading cards in a big way.

Cards: The sports trading card market is largely driven by technological growth in trade platforms. E-commerce has played a significant role in popularizing sports trading cards such as hockey and basketball and is growing most quickly. A Honus Wagner card sold for US$6.6 million in 2021. The Sports Trading Card Market is expected to grow as people collect them as a hobby and others resell them for higher prices. Tokenizing trading cards on the blockchains in the form of NFTs helps in enhancing their worth and also keep them more protected from getting destroyed or getting worn out.

Accessories: Jersey holds more than 50% of the sports memorabilia market revenue. Player’s accessories/memorabilia such as T-shirts, caps, watches, shoes, and glasses are widely popular. There is a huge demand for these accessories with competitors coming up with digital platforms for increasing the reach to collectors. Digitizing these accessories make them even more unique and constantly increases the market price. Assembling all the sports kits on the blockchain as NFT helps in saving the right of possessions and provides more worth to the accessories.

Collectables: The awards, autographs, trophies, and other sports equipment which are collectibles are turned into digital assets. Changing these sports collectibles into NFTs helps in extensively growing the NFT market with huge profits. eBay on May 2022, launched its first-ever Genesis collection of NFT, where eBay is offering animated and 3D representations of iconic athletes over the years. 

Video Clips: Sports organizations are taking some popular moments from the sports industry and tokenizing those video clips or images in the form of NFTs and selling them to earn a huge amount of revenue.

The sales channel in sports memorabilia market has been significantly impacted due to NFT craze. NFTs can be sold digitally and therefore off-line auctions have lesser role to play. Also, new NFT marketplaces have evolved that allow teams or athletes to create their own NFT and put it on an auction or sale. Such marketplaces also allow resale of NFTs by investors and traders.

“Will it End the Role of Auction Houses?”
In 2022, limited edition video clips would lead the NFT industry in sports domain followed by player cards. The value of NFT depends on the popularity of the athlete, significance of the event, and associated content within the NFT. NFTs are believed to be sold over online platforms; however, it has been observed that an NFT limited to a single edition of a major event—say, a winning cricket strike, goal, home run, or dunk by a sports person, added commentary by associated sportsperson—are sold at auction. On the other hand, the same video but with no additional content and numerous (though limited number) available copies is sold and traded through specialized NFT platforms or online sports collectibles marketplace, example OpenSea.

“Demand Drivers: What is Boosting Sports NFT Industry”

The demand for NFTs is greatly driven by the ability to demonstrate status, the rarer the NFT is higher is its market value. The video game industry has seen huge spending on digital tokens by collectors and fans. The manufacturers can create a super high valued single edition NFT or multiple less valued ones, as the number of NFTs that are to be created depends on the manufacturer. The marginal cost of manufacturing a digital NFT is close to zero as it is only displayed on the screen.

Some of the most renounced sports NFT collections are:
• LeBron James
This NBA stars NFTs have accumulated $180 million in sales. LeBron James NFT called “Cosmic” Dunk was sold at a whopping $208K on 22 Feb 2021.
• Messi
Lionel Messi has jumped into NFTs world to please his fans. Messi has announced his NFT collection by calling it “Messiverse”, in collaboration with Australia-based digital artist BossLogic to design his crypto art.
Some other renounced sportspersons like Bolt and Tom Brady have also announced their NFT collection consisting of Digital Autographs to narrate their careers.

Currently, major sports in demand for NFTs are NFL, Soccer/Football, Basketball, Baseball, Cricket, and Ice Hockey. Over time, however, all sports are likely to have some form of NFT offering. Interest in sports NFTs is likely to be spurred by activity in the wider NFT market, including that for digital art.
A major initial consideration will be whether NFT activities are best carried out at the league, team, or athlete level. The sports NFT industry is making huge economic inroads into sports industry’s overall growth and development in multiple ways.

“What competitors are up to in this revolutionizing business?”

Football has the highest memorabilia industry sales of US$2.5 billion. The NBA, the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB)have acquired great acceptance among the fans and have been identified as collectively holding the majority of the market share.

The United States of America leads the Sports NFT with around 70 percent of the market in 2021. China remains a huge market for collectibles and India is emerging as a major NFT destination, whereas the UK leads the European market.

Some of the companies covered in this report are OOOOO Entertainment Commerce Limited, Funko, Inc., Hut 8 Mining Corp., Ebang International Holdings Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc., OpenSea, NBA Top Shot, Rarible, Aetsoft, Enjin, Accubits, Nifty Gateway, AirNFTs, Sorare, Dibbs, Crypto.com, Fanzone Sports Club, The Ballman Project, Blockchain Brawlers, and Mintable.

Key Competitive Strategies: September 2022:

• FIFA Launches NFT Collection on Algorand (ALGO)
• NFT Platform "Heir" to enter high school sports star NFT Sector
• Officially Licensed NFT Platform OWNIC to Revolutionize Collectible Sports Cards with Dynamic NFTs
• Major League Soccer partners with Sorare, to launch a blockchain based fantasy soccer game in 2022
• Ticketmaster Chooses Dapper Labs Flow Blockchain for NFT Tickets
• Former NFL Legend Michael Vick Co-founds Sports Tech Company FanField
• NFL To Launch NFT Helmet Collection as Part of NFL Rivals Blockchain Game

Key Stats and Insights

• Sports NFT market growing at 36.3% CAGR
• North America leads the global market
• Asia Pacific is the most potential region
• Cricket NFT is led by APAC
• NFL NFTS are led in U.S. but a small market elsewhere
• Latin America majorly dominates with NFL and Football both
• Trading cards evolves as leading revolutionizer
• Digital memorabilia gaining acceptance
• Video Moment NFTs the leading segment
• Highly active industry in strategies by companies in 2022
• Early movers to take advantage/highly potential market
• Ambiguity in understanding leading to huge misunderstanding among companies
• Market Research to play a major role in strategy building in 2022

Sports NFT Market Scope

The report includes detailed analysis of market data for every NFT type for each country and for each sports type. Estimates and forecasts are provided from 2021 to 2032. This is a highly active market and therefore we update this research every month.
• Number of Report Pages: 226
• Number of Data Tables: 82
• Number of Charts: 74

Top Sports NFT Market Segments
Industry Breakdown by NFT File Type
• Video NFT
• Image NFT
• Audio NFT

Industry Breakdown by NFT Collectible Type

• Trading Card NFTs Market
• Memorabilia NFTs 
• Collectable NFTs 

Industry Breakdown by Seller Type

• Auctions Houses
• Online NFT Platforms (Generalized)
• Specialized Sports NFT Websites


• All major countries covered (around 30)

Key Report Takeaways:

• Market revenue from 2021 to 2032
• Market data for each product/sales channel/league/country
• Sports memorabilia market trends
• Market competition and company analysis
• Physical and digital collectibles analysis
• In-depth analysis of 20 major countries with data
• Key investment pockets in the industry
• Start-up strategy for entry

Years considered for this report
• Historical Years: 2021
• Base Year: 2021
• Forecast Period: 2022-2032

Sports NFT Market Research Report Analysis Highlights
• Historical data available (as per request)
• Estimation/projections/forecast for revenue and unit sales (2022 – 2032)
• Data breakdown for application Industries (2022 – 2032)
• Integration and collaboration analysis of companies
• Capacity analysis with application sector breakdown
• Business trend and expansion analysis
• Import and export analysis
• Competition analysis/market share
• Supply chain analysis
• Client list and case studies
• Market entry strategies adopted by emerging companies

Industry Segmentation and Revenue Breakdown of Sports NFT Market
NFT Type Analysis (Revenue, USD Million, 2022 - 2032)
• Video NFT
• Image NFT
• Other NFTs

Collectible Type Analysis (Revenue, USD Million, 2022 - 2032)
• Memorabilia NFT 
• Trading Cards NFT

Seller Type Analysis (Revenue, USD Million, 2022 - 2032)
• Auction Houses
• Online NFT Platforms
• Specialized Sports NFT Platforms

Country Analysis (Revenue, USD Million, 2022 – 2032)
• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• Rest of the Europe
• APAC
• China
• India
• Philippines
• Malaysia
• Australia
• Austria
• South Korea
• Rest of the APAC
• Rest of the World
• Middle East
• Japan
• Africa
• Rest of the World

Sports NFT Market companies:
• OpenSea
• NBA Top Shot
• Rarible
• Aetsoft
• Enjin
• Accubits
• Nifty Gateway
• AirNFTs
• Sorare
• Dibbs
• Crypto.com
• Fanzone Sports Club
• The Ballman Project
• Blockchain Brawlers
• Mintable

Available Versions of Sports NFT Market Report: -

United States Sports NFT Market Research Report
Europe Sports NFT Market Research Report
Asia Pacific Sports NFT Market Research Report
India Sports NFT Market Research Report


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