Despite the increase in sports partnerships with crypto brands, many have turned out to be unsuccessful.
American-owned F1 team Haas has announced its partnership with NFT peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea. The deal makes OpenSea the official NFT Marketplace Partner of the F1 team.
As part of the deal, Haas and OpenSea will collaborate to produce custom NFTs. They will also develop a utility to drive fan engagement. The partnership will provide an opportunity for cross-promotion. Thus, the OpenSea logo will appear on the Haas F1 Team VF-22 series cars.
Shiva Rajaraman, VP of Product at OpenSea noted that NFTs unlock new experiences and ways to bring people around the things they already love. He said:
“We’re looking forward to bringing innovative collections to life with the Haas F1 Team, building new experiences for their community of dedicated fans, and providing new ways for everyone to get even closer to the action.”
Sports Brand Partnerships: Which Way?
Haas’s deal with OpenSea is the latest partnership involving a sports brand as crypto and Web3 firms rack up sports partnerships to tap existing sports fan communities.
In September, Liverpool expanded its partnership with blockchain-based sports startup Sorare. In racing, FTX and Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced their partnership for the Miami Beach race and the 2022 racing season. Red Bull Racing (RBR) also partnered with cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit in February, asides from an existing partnership with Tezos.
Despite the increase in sports partnerships with crypto brands, many have turned out to be unsuccessful. In June 2022, FTX pulled out of sponsorship discussions with the Los Angeles Angels, claiming it was not a right fit for their marketing goals. Crypto.com also pulled out of a $495 Million sponsorship deal with the European Champions League (UEFA) in August 2022.
Regardless, Guenther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas F1 Team, is confident that the partnership with OpenSea will work out.
“We’ve waited to find the right partner in the NFT space, and in OpenSea, we’ve found exactly that,” Steiner said. Steiner expressed his belief that Haas is in good hands given OpenSea’s position as an industry leader.
“It’s going to be exciting for us to take our first steps into the NFT environment and engage with OpenSea’s passionate community,” he concluded.
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