Why Panini Remains Bullish On In-Person NFT Tie-Ins Amid Market Uncertainty – SportTechie

Eight VIP guests went to the Jets-Patriots game at Gillette Stadium as guests of Panini. They won a trip to the game through the sports memorabilia company's Hurry Up! Rainbow Challenge around its NFL NFTs.
Marcus Jones’ wild 84-yard punt return TD in the final minute of the Patriots’ 10-3 win over the Jets Sunday was a perfect culmination for the eight VIP guests at Gillette Stadium of Panini. They won a trip to the game through the sports memorabilia company’s Hurry Up! Rainbow Challenge around its NFL NFTs. It was part of ongoing efforts from Panini in the space, prioritizing the incorporation of real-life experiences with its digital collectibles.
“Having that in our cadence as opposed to being a standalone, on its own, pure NFT, where you’re trying to derive value in this marketplace, is really challenging,” Panini VP/Marketing Jason Howarth told me.
Game Day 🏈 Today some @PaniniAmerica #NFT winners will get that pre-game on-field experience before taking in the @Patriots vs. @nyjets in an AFC East showdown. #whodoyoucollect #panininft #sportsbiz pic.twitter.com/o3S4JgcpMM
Winners of a separate NFT challenge will have a similar VIP experience at Bears-Jets this coming Sunday at MetLife Stadium, as Panini continues building out its offerings that started with an NFT Party at the National Sports Collectors Convention this summer and then a trip for select winners to UFC 278 in Salt Lake City.
Look for Panini to roll out real-life NBA experiences around its NFT products in 2023, Howarth said. In the meantime, Panini has another activation planned around UFC 282 in Las Vegas and several NFTs rolling out during the FIFA World Cup.
While Howarth admits news like the downfall of FTX can be unsettling, he’s confident in the strength of Panini’s blockchain, which over the last 30 days ranks 8th in sales, according to NFT tracking platform CryptoSlam. “We want to be able to have that functionality within our platform,” he said. “So, building in those functionalities so that our platform is vibrant and really adds to the overall user experience.”
A unique aspect of Panini’s platform is that all NFTs trade in U.S. currency. “There’s no up and down, no level of volatility that you’re seeing in the cryptocurrency market that’s impacting our platform,” Howarth said.
This story was featured in SportTechie’s Daily newsletter.
Photo credits: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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