The National Football League (NFL) and Ticketmaster have announced that fans will continue to receive complimentary virtual commemorative tickets during the 2022 NFL regular season, in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
The NFL successfully distributed more than 500,000 complimentary NFT tickets to fans during the 2021 NFL season.
During the upcoming season, the NFL will offer NFTs to every attendee at more than 100 select games, including at least three home games for all 32 clubs. NFTs will be dropped for every week one game, including the Buffalo Bills and LA Rams kickoff game on September 8 at SoFi Stadium.
Bobby Gallo, senior vice-president of club business development at the NFL, said: “Last season the NFL rewarded fans with virtual commemorative ticket NFTs at select regular-season games, every playoff game, Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl LVI, as well as at the 2022 NFL Draft.
“By utilising emerging technology, we introduced fans to the digital realm of NFTs while building engagement, which positioned the league to explore future NFT ticketing opportunities.”
Gallo added: “As we approach the 2022 NFL season, we look forward to expanding our virtual commemorative ticket offerings for over 100 games.
“We are excited to continue to explore and learn more about this emerging technology, while also continuing to collaborate and innovate with Ticketmaster.”
Fans will become eligible to receive a virtual commemorative ticket NFT after scanning their tickets to enter the stadium. Attendees will then be able to manage their NFTs in a dedicated NFL NFT marketplace, which is powered by Ticketmaster, where they are also able to trade or sell their commemorative NFTs.
Brendan Lynch, Ticketmaster executive vice-president of enterprise and revenue, said: “NFTs extend the live event experience by giving fans a digital keepsake to remember the game they attended and share the experience with their friends online.
“Expanding NFT offerings for the 2022 season is yet another example of how Ticketmaster and the NFL continually innovate to take the fan experience to the next level.”
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