Golden State Warriors Become First Major League Team To Release NFTs

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We’ve seen league-wide non-fungible tokens in sports through the likes of NBA Top Shot and Topps MLB, and we have seen athlete-owned NFT releases, including those from athletes like Rob Gronkowski, Patrick Mahomes, and Damian Lillard, among others. Now, we’re seeing the first professional sports team release of non-fungible tokens by way of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

The ‘Legacy NFT Collection’ announced today by the Warriors will aim to commemorate the team’s six NBA championships, with a portion of all proceeds being donated to the Warriors Community Foundation.

The Digital Drop Details

The NFT release for the Warriors breaks down into two buckets, Warriors Championship Ring NFTs and Commemorative Ticket Stub NFTs.

The Championship Ring NFT offering includes six separate NFT releases, one for each of Warriors championships spanning between 1947 and 2018, designed to replicate the franchises physically awarded rings; there are either 25 or 50 minted NFTs for each championship ring, dependent on the ring, with the first mint holder receiving a physical version of the ring with the option of having custom name engraving available. Additionally, the team is releasing a one-of-one NFT and physical ring that is representative of all six of the team championships.

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The Commemorative Ticket Stub tokens look to showcase historic moments in the team’s history. From the first ever team championship win, to breaking the single season NBA game wins record, the Ticket Stub tokens pay homage to some of the franchise’s most valued moments to date. Much like the commemorative ring series, these non-fungible tokens will also include a one-of-one that includes an experiential aspect, as the winning bidder for the “Golden Ticket” NFT will be awarded a “Warrior for a Day” experience, which includes courtside seats.

The auctions end throughout the days on Saturday, May 1^st, and Sunday, May 2^nd.

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Looking From The Team’s Lens 

Warriors Chief Revenue Officer Brandon Schneider noted in the press release that they see “NFTs and digitization” of their business “as a mainstay to engage fans around the world”. With the Warriors playing in Silicon Valley’s backyard, it’s no surprise that the team is a first-mover in engaging with fans through this medium. Schneider also described the excitement around digital collectables as “palpable” and cited the desire for the team to tie-in community give-back by way of the team’s charity.

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The Warriors collaborated with agency Medium Rare to release this NFT series, and connected with Brazilian artist Black Madre, who designed Rob Gronkowski’s non-fungible tokens as well. It remains to be seen if other teams and leagues in sport will continue to follow suite with the NBA’s relatively aggressive approach towards non-fungible tokens. The NFL and UFC are two properties that are rumored to have NFT engagement in their pipeline, and esports is a sport category that continues to have buzz in the NFT landscape.

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