Race fans, start your engines.
Haas F1 Team, the only American-owned team in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, today announced a partnership with OpenSea. The largest NFT marketplace by trading volume.
The new deal includes the production of a series of branded NFTs and cross-promotion during race events where the OpenSea logo will be displayed on Haas F1 Team VF-22 series cars.
Non-fungible tokenor NFTs, are cryptographically unique tokens linked to digital and physical content that provide proof of ownership such as artwork, music, memorabilia, and video game items.
Shiva Rajaraman, vice president of products at OpenSea, said in a statement: “We look forward to working with Haas F1 Team to bring to life an innovative collection, building new experiences for our community of dedicated fans and offering new ways for everyone to get even closer to the action.”
crypto sports hurdles
Haas’ deal with OpenSea is the latest in sports leagues (especially racing brands) to embrace Web3 technology to expand reach and brand awareness. Back in April, cryptocurrency exchange FTX and F1 team Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced A collection of racing NFT merchandise centered around the Miami Grand Prix and the 2022 racing season.
June 2021, TezosAlready partnered with Red Bull Racing, announced a partnership with F1 team McLaren Racing.
However, sports partnerships on Web3 are mixed, with only a handful of successful ventures.
In June 2022, FTX confirmed it had pulled. out of discussion Sponsor the Los Angeles Angels jersey patch Decryption It just didn’t fit their marketing goals. They said the decision was not a result of the recent market downturn.
Rival exchange Crypto.com saw its sports league sponsorship deals hit a dead end when it raised $495 million in funding in August 2022. Sponsorship contract with the European Champions League (UEFA). Crypto.com’s deal comes after UEFA’s previous sponsorship deal with Russian natural gas company Gazprom was canceled by the league after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.
However, Haas F1 Team team principal Guenther Steiner is confident in his partnership with OpenSea.
“We have been waiting to find the right partner in the NFT space and with OpenSea we have found just that: a passionate community at OpenSea, taking our first steps into the NFT environment.”
