World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has partnered with sports platform Fanatics to develop and release NFTs trading cards through Fanatics’ digital collectibles division Candy Digital.
According to a joint statement, the NFT trading cards will feature some of WWE’s biggest stars and reflect some of the company’s most talked-about moments. NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that represent ownership of an item, such as a digital trading card, on a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana.
While this may appear to be a fantastic opportunity for die-hard WWE fans to get their hands on some digital goods, they will have to wait. The WWE has existing trading card licensing agreements that will expire “in the coming years.” Fanatics and Candy Digital will thereafter become the sole suppliers of WWE trading cards.
The WWE is expected to begin producing NFTs later this year. Candy Digital will lead the creative process and technical execution for WWE NFT projects as a “principal partner.” The Topps logo will appear on trading cards, which Fanatics also owns.
Neither firm said which wrestlers would be the first to appear on the NFT trading cards, but there might be a Web3 version of John Cena or Hulk Hogan soon.
The WWE is not the first sports organization to enter the NFT market. Tom Brady, who recently announced his retirement from the NFL, has released a variety of different NFT drops for various players through his Autograph program.
NFTs as digital trading cards appear to be gaining traction, as Warner Music Group recently announced a partnership with the play-to-earn blockchain card game Splinterlands to include musicians in future games.
