The NHL’s LA Kings recently tweeted it will give away 6,000 NFTs on the Crypto.com NFT market. This marks the first time the pro hockey team minted official NFTs on any blockchain.
According to the LA Kings’ Twitter page, this new NFT set will include three stylized “metaverse ticket” NFTs. The Web3 company Project MIDAS helped design the virtual tickets in the LA Kings’ historic NFT collection.
The LA Kings also said these NFTs will fall into one of three rarity tiers. “Shield Edition” NFTs will be the most common, with 5,845 of the total 6,000 NFTs. However, there will only be 88 “Heritage Edition” NFTs and 67 “Founders Edition” NFTs.
Anyone who wants a chance to win one of these LA Kings NFTs could sign up on crypto.com/nft/gokingsgo. Contestants must enter an email address associated with their Crypto.com NFT account before 9 PM EST on May 9th.
It’s unclear whether these LA Kings NFTs will come with special perks. However, recent press releases suggest Crypto.com and the LA Kings will partner on future NFT collections.
In November of 2021, Crypto.com bought a 20-year contract to take over the LA Staples Center. In addition to the LA Kings, the Crypto.com Arena is home to the NBA’s LA Lakers. It’s estimated that Crypto.com spent $700 million on these exclusive naming rights.
Crypto.com Becomes a Prime Destination for Sports NFTs
Crypto.com has spared no expense in partnering with some of the biggest sports teams, celebrity athletes, and events. Unsurprisingly, the Singapore-based exchange has used these partnerships to create exclusive digital collectibles on its NFT market.
For instance, fans of F1 racing may already know Crypto.com was prominently featured on May 8th’s Miami Grand Prix. A few weeks before this massive race, Crypto.com released a set of NFTs representing different sections of the official Miami race track. Aston-Martin F1 also has a close relationship with the Crypto.com NFT market.
Aside from NHL hockey and F1 racing, Crypto.com has minted many pro basketball NFTs. Most significantly, LeBron James dropped an NFT collection called “The Moment of Truth” shortly after his 2022 Super Bowl ad. Crypto.com also frequently releases NFTs from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Last year, Crypto.com signed a multi-million-dollar deal to sponsor the UFC. People who log into Crypto.com’s NFT market will frequently see official UFC NFT drops, some of which include IRL prizes like tickets to live events.
While this list of partners is impressive, Crypto.com has a lot of competition in the pro sports NFT space. Platforms like NBA Top Shot, Autograph, and Sorare have also proven immensely successful in the red-hot sports NFT sector.