Blockchain in the sports industry

Blockchain is a digital platform that can increase the engagement of products, content, and money for almost any company. Many people would think this kind of technology use would be useless to the sports industry but it actually does the complete opposite. With our world now converting and relying on the use of technology to enhance systems it is crucial for all industries to take advantage of the new and upcoming technology to grow and promote their businesses. Over the next 3-5 years the sports industry can use the technology of blockchain’s to show ownership of data, increase engagement with the fanbase, create ways to save ticketing fraud, and much more.
It is important to keep the fanbase interested and supportive of sports teams and by using blockchain it can create ways of increasing revenue outside of sporting events as well as allowing fans to in a way be a part of a team. It also puts a focus on the fans that want to be active within the sports industry and not just be sitting in the stands watching. Companies can create digital collectible items that eventually become limited editions. Through online marketplaces these items can be purchased and sold between fans. Also, relating to using online resources companies can create a pay per view streaming resource instead of someone having to continuously play cable. This helps with the use of going through online streams instead of using a middleman like cable providers.
Another way to increase revenue outside of events is with the creation of online games for fans to play. For example, the NBA has created a fantasy sport style game that allows fans to create a roster of their own. The idea of the game is that they get to use their favorite players to compete against other fans' fantasy teams. Having games like this allows fans to continue to be active with their favorite sport event in the off season and continues to bring in money for the industry. Blockchains within these games help to secure any in app purchases that someone may want to buy. It uses crypto-based payments and protects any digital signatures.
Since blockchain keeps track of online data and ownership of online data this will also help with ticket frauding and information of players. By having online scannable tickets blockchains store and show truthful ticket ownership and does not allow for duplicates of tickets to be used by other people. Stopping the duplication of tickets protects loyal playing customers as well as brand trust issues for teams. Limiting faulty data about players is crucial. Teams use blockchains to apply data about a player like logging their statistics and any records that they may have. Having protection of this kind of data is important when it comes to managers of an athlete. By having secured this data through a blockchain it does not allow for manipulation or any changes in an athlete's data by its club or manager.
At the beginning of an athlete's career, especially a young athlete it can be difficult to have the funding for world class training or trainers. Luckily, they have investors that willingly put forth money to help a young athlete get the best training they can to become the best athlete they can. Most investors will result in going through smart contracts or online contracts that are protected by blockchains. The complex contracts are created to help with their funding and also ensures that the investor will get their money back in the end. Their timeline of when they get their money back will result in the training the athlete gets and how much money they make. If an athlete were to reach an income of millions of dollars the investors will get their money back sooner than if they were making less. Crypto-based payments can also assist in the funding that an athlete may need. By having a crypto-based company investing in a person it can help to create awareness and revenue for their companies as well.
As a whole the use of blockchains will give the sports industry a huge jump in their productivity, advertisement, and engagement of their fanbases. It creates a new world for fans to be able to connect and interact with their favorite sports teams in a different way other than going to watch them play. It increases income for teams while also having a reliable way to protect them and their players. It can be used in every aspect of the sports industry from simply creating a game to creating complex contracts with investors. Even though most people would think that the use of blockchains may be useless in the sports industry over the years, it will be an essential aspect in the growth of all chains in the industry.