DraftKings and PGA Tour announce new NFT fantasy golf game
DraftKings, the renowned sports betting company, has unveiled its partnership with the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour to create an NFT-based fantasy golf game called Reignmakers PGA Tour.
Fantasy golf
Set to launch in March, the game will enable players to compete for millions of dollars in prize money by utilizing Polygon NFT player cards. The announcement comes on the heels of DraftKings’ successful foray into NFT-based fantasy sports games for renowned leagues such as the NFL and the UFC.
The Reignmakers PGA Tour game will adopt a familiar format, with digital cards featuring PGA Tour golfers being minted and sold through Polygon, an Ethereum sidechain network. Like in previous versions of the game, users will construct their lineups by acquiring and trading digital cards representing real-world athletes. Points will be awarded based on the athletes’ real-world performances.
According to Beth Beiriger, the Senior Vice President of Marketplace Operations at DraftKings, golf is the fourth-largest fantasy sport and the seventh most-bet-on sports league at the company. She further stated that Reignmakers will enable the company to “take gamified NFTs and really push our users over into the fantasy space a little bit more.” The Reignmakers PGA Tour game will kick off with a premium Greens Pass NFT on March 1, offering players “preferred access” and “season-long rewards”.
On March 6, the first set of PGA player cards for Reignmakers PGA Tour will be launched, preceding the first in-game event, The Players Championship, from March 9-12. While the NFT-driven experience will be largely similar to other Reignmakers games, players can anticipate specially-themed future NFT drops related to major PGA Tour tournaments.
Previous ventures into web3 by DraftKings
DraftKings’ collaboration with the PGA Tour to launch a fantasy golf game using NFTs marks the tour’s second foray into the NFT space. The PGA Tour previously announced a partnership with Tom Brady’s NFT platform Autograph in September 2022, but so far no NFTs have been released.
Unlike Autograph’s planned digital collectibles, which will feature on-course moments, DraftKings’ focus will be on player cards that have in-game value. According to Tom Jeffs, the PGA Tour’s vice president of media business development, future Autograph NFTs will have a collectible theme.
According to Jeffs, there is ample opportunity for both initiatives to succeed in the realm of sports NFTs. He noted that the PGA Tour views NFT ventures as a way to enhance fans’ connection with players by allowing them to own their assets. Jeffs mentioned that players such as Jon Rahm and Max Homa, who competed fiercely at the Genesis Invitational last weekend, exemplify this phenomenon:
“You are living and breathing by that player’s success, and not only for that week in which you are participating in a competition, (…) Now you can’t wait to see the next time Max is going to tee it up, because you know that you have him in your roster—so you feel vested.”
NFTs taking over sports leagues
In the sports industry, NFTs have gained significant traction in recent months. Sorare, a blockchain-based fantasy soccer game, received a $680 million investment in a funding round led by SoftBank in February, while NBA Top Shot, which enables fans to purchase, trade, and sell officially licensed NBA collectibles, has also witnessed a rise in popularity.
