On Thursday, NFL Rivals announced the addition of a new feature that lets fans purchase NFT player cards on secondary NFT markets using their iOS and Android apps.
NFL Rivals is a fantasy football Web3 mobile game from Mythical Games in collaboration with the National Football League and the NFL Players’ Association. It debuted in early access mode in April. By June, it reported a million downloads.
Previously, non-fungible tokens could only be purchased on Mythical’s web-based marketplace and stored in user’s Mythical account. Now players who have achieved level 4 or higher in NFL Rivals can tap the “Improve My Roster” button on the team roster menu to purchase new player cards directly from the app.
To buy an NFT in the app, fans must use the game’s new in-game currency, Credits. Credits can be bought in bundles ranging from 140 Credits for $1.99 to 7,000 Credits for $99.99.
The decision is similar to Stepn — a move-to-earn game that in May created its own currency for buying NFTs through its iOS app. However, one of the key differences is that with Mythical, the NFTs will be priced the same whether buyers purchase them on the mobile game or web marketplace. On Stepn, the NFTs tend to be at least 30% more expensive on the app to cover Apple’s fees.
According to a blog post, Mythical Games will also be rolling out various in-game marketplace integrations in the future focused on enabling players to trade NFTs on the iOS and Android Apps.
The NFL Is Bullish on Web3
On March 25th, 2022, the NFL announced its deal with Mythical Games to create an NFT-based fantasy football game. The game would let players become General Managers and buy and sell NFT player cards to create and compete with their favorite teams. Ever since then, the NFL has been bullish on Web3.
One particularly telling event was this year’s Super Bowl, where the NFL launched several Web3 experiences and features for fans. Here are the top Web3 headlines from Super Bowl LVII.
First, the NFL held its first-ever virtual Super Bowl Concert featuring hip-hop phenomenon Saweetie. The concert took place in Rhythm City in Roblox’s metaverse and repeated every hour on the hour during the game.
Next, the NFL partnered with Reddit and Polygon to release a set of avatar digital collectibles based on the two teams: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFTs were free and let fans show off which team they supported.
Lastly, Mythical Games and the NFL launched a set of NFT player packs for the big game. The “Super Bowl LVII Rivals” cards consisted of 22 new NFTs of players from both teams. They can be used in NFL Rivals.
By making Web3 a part of the League’s most important day of the year, the Super Bowl, the NFL proved it is committed to exploring these nascent technologies. The latest feature for NFL Rivals should bring fans more flexibility and value as the game expands its reach. At Rarity Sniper, we’ll follow up on any updates to the story.