It has been less than a year since NBA Top Shot served as an introduction for many sports fans into the world of NFTs, and now the NFL is lining up a similar arrangement. In September, the league announced a partnership with the company that runs Top Shot, Dapper Labs, and now we know the name of the service that will distribute the video highlight clips that make up the “Moments” that become NFTs: NFL All Day.
The new pro football NFT marketplace has a name: NFL All Day
Remember NBA Top Shot? It’s like that
Remember NBA Top Shot? It’s like that
Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images
is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget.
What’s an NFT?
NFTs allow you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. NFT stands for “non-fungible token,” and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, animated GIFs, songs, or items in video games. An NFT can either be one of a kind, like a real-life painting, or one copy of many, like trading cards, but the blockchain keeps track of who has ownership of the file.
NFTs have been making headlines lately, some selling for millions of dollars, with high-profile memes like Nyan Cat and the “deal with it” sunglasses being put up for auction. There’s also a lot of discussion about the massive electricity use and environmental impacts of NFTs. If you (understandably) still have questions, you can read through our NFT FAQ.
This effort is separate from the Ticketmaster-powered NFTs that the NFL is tying to selected games this season (like the Lions’ annual Thanksgiving appearance on national TV), but launching the branding now doesn’t feel like a coincidence. There will be many blockchain and NFT discussions amongst family members on Thursday, between these NFL promotions and even the Macy’s parade.
NFL All Day will use the Dapper Labs Flow blockchain just like Top Shot, with the trading and showcasing of Moments happening on the All Day platform.
NFL All Day isn’t ready to launch yet, but the website hosting its waitlist has been updated, promising visitors that they can experience “the future of fandom” via digital video collectibles. From what we can see in a thread posted on Twitter, it appears things will be very similar to NBA Top Shot. You can buy randomized packs of Moments, with each one assigned some level of rarity. They’re also advertising “Melts” that combine more than one play into a Moment.
Image: NBA Top Shot
The explosive initial popularity of Top Shot suggests the possibility there is an audience for this among the hundreds of millions of NFL fans. Until more features launch, however, it’s unclear exactly what they’ll do with these collectibles once they have them or if the marketplace can maintain popularity as it grows to accommodate more users who all anticipate uncovering rare finds in their packs.
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