The e-commerce giant eBay is partnering with Notable Live, an interactive virtual events platform, to offer non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that give fans access to their favorite athletes, teams, and leagues.
By combining eBay’s marketplace with the authentic and immersive experiences created by Notable Live, sports fans can interact with their favorite star athletes in novel ways. eBay, which led the Series A funding round for Notable Live, has agreed to a multi-year agreement to distribute limited edition NFTs and player merchandise through eBay’s online marketplace.
Mike Antonucci, co-founder and CEO of Notable Live, said that the partnership will help his team deliver “transformational solutions that provide fans true access” to athletes. The tech startup, which began as a mobile app to connect fans with athletes, was founded by two Pro Football Hall of Famers, Antonucci and ex-Dallas running back Emmitt Smith.
eBay’s Vice President of collectibles, Dawn Block, added that eBay was excited to offer sports fans, collectors, and investors a new way to interact with the star athletes that inspire them.
This isn’t eBay’s first foray into Web3. In June 2022, the company acquired the NFT marketplace Known Origin and launched a new NFT collection called Genesis. However, eBay’s NFT sales are not recorded on-chain. Instead, buyers receive their NFTs via a redemption link after paying in fiat. Also, it has not been disclosed yet which blockchain will be used to issue Notable Live’s NFTs.
Web2 and Web3 Partnerships are Becoming Common
The move by eBay to partner with Notable Live should be exciting for sports fans around the world. But eBay is far from the only Web2 business partnering with startups and Web3 platforms for new projects. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve written several articles about recent partnerships and acquisitions in Web3. Here are the top stories.
First, about a month ago, the United Talent Agency (UTA) partnered with PROOF, the Web3 studio behind the NFT collection Moonbirds. UTA is one of the top three biggest Hollywood talent agencies. The move will help expand Moonbirds into a “global brand.”
Next, the cosmetic giant L’Oréal recently participated in a $4 million funding round for Digital Village, a NFT marketplace builder and metaverse-as-a-service provider. L’Oréal has released several NFT and metaverse projects already. The company believes the partnership will expand the beauty brand’s reach in Web3.
Finally, the popular Web3 company and NFT collection Doodles is acquiring Golden Wolf, an award-winning animation studio. Golden Wolf, founded in 2013, has partnered with Disney and worked on numerous animated sci-fi series, including the hit show “Rick & Morty.”
It seems likely that partnerships between Web2 and Web3 companies will be important moving forward, and the recent partnership between eBay and Notable Live support this. We’ll keep our ears to the ground for any new developments in the story.