Cointelegraph was on the footing for NFT NYC, event taking place a couple of hundred feet from Times Square dedicated to non-fungible tokens.

While most of the companies at NFT NYC are early on-phase startups yet looking for their users, ii attending organizations have hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

Adrienne O'Keeffe, associate vice president of partnerships at the NBA, and Sophie Gage, counsel at the NFL Role player'southward Association, joined a panel to discuss the value of blockchain engineering for big brands. Cointelegraph scored an exclusive interview later their public word.

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NFTs volition create greater fan engagement

"This is a new fashion for fans to connect with our games", says O'Keeffe. But Gage, who is a lawyer, notices "there is a lot of uncertainty: are these utilities, are these securities?" Panini, who is a giant in the traditional players' cards market, has issued blockchain-based cards for NFL, MLB, NBA every bit well as for various soccer teams. "Information technology's a new area for growth. There is a lot of untapped potential", observes Gage.

NBA tried both public and individual blockchains

The NBA has experimented with both public and private blockchains, each with its own pros and cons. Public blockchains allow more than freedom and greater appointment at the expense of control. Private blockchains give y'all greater control, merely you lot trade liberty and appointment for it. O'Keeffe also shared her advice to blockchain entrepreneurs looking to sell their products to the NBA:

"We have met with dozens of companies in the infinite. They were coming to us with capabilities, not products."

No player contract tokenization

Many NBA and NFL players are into crypto. Perhaps the boldest venture in the area was Nets actor Spencer Dinwiddie trying to tokenize his NBA contract. The NBA eventually shut information technology down — Gage and O'Keeffe both believe nosotros won't see contract tokenization anytime soon.