Time for Fans to Get More Than Entertainment Value

in #hive-1016902 years ago

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I was startled at how expensive certain sporting ventures have become. Take for instance the massive debt owed by Barcelona sporting club which is in tune of over €1 Billion. The bulk of it comes from the atrocious amounts they splurged on their football club that included sign on fees, player wages and various other settlements.

A club simply doesn't get so badly in debt despite a healthy stream of revenue coming in from TV rights, stadium fees, jersey sales, sponsorships and several other endorsements if it obviously wasn't spending way more than it received. The amount though is staggering and really calls for caution on the type of money being thrown around in various sports.

The transfer season is on in both the NBA and English Premier league - two of the biggest and most recognizable league brands in the World. What I find interesting about some of these transfers is the sheer amount involved that is traded between clubs and what players are entitled to.

Rewards are Flowing

Take for instance the curious case of Zion Williamson, the New Orleans star who was injured for the entirety of last season. No doubt a generational talent, he was recently given a 5 year rookie max contract extension worth $193 million which could rise by about $30 million if certain other conditions are met. This is surprising to say the least, considering the fact that his fitness wasn't even taken into consideration.

Things seem to be going so well from an athlete or superathlete standpoint. We have some athletes who have signed lifetime sponsorship and endorsement deals as a result of the fame and fortune their careers have brought. Some others earn more than enough during their careers that they probably wouldn't need to work in their lifetime. I definitely don't have an issue with athletes making a fortune off their skillset, but it did occur to me that one group of stakeholders in the sporting universe tend to be least considered.

What Do you Get for Loyalty?

Fans are no doubt the most important piece to creating a successful sporting franchise. Without them, there would be nothing to sell and hence no revenue, endorsements, deals and so forth. This obviously also means no filthy rich athletes or perhaps no athletes at all. Without fans, we'd all be mediocre athletes who organize events for fun.

While everyone recognizes their importance though, it sometimes feels like fans are not as appreciated as they could be. I mean most of the times there are no obvious benefits for supporting a sports club, player or team except for bragging rights. One can argue that the emotional and psychological benefits are enough, but this doesn't mean they cannot be improved on.

Perhaps due to the Sheer number of fans available there is a recognition that all of them cannot possibly be given direct rewards, and I think sporting organizations do try to recognize the efforts of their fans in their own way from time to time. But as is the model in large social media platforms where a select group of people take home the majority of profits while the consumers are only rewarded with access to the platform, there could be more moves towards ensuring profits also reach the hands of consumers.

Crypto is my solution to this and we are already seeing a massive entry in sports. Players, teams and even fans are now taking advantage of the chain to find more creative ways to better reward themselves. I reckon the sporting model of the future will have fans taken into consideration in profit sharing, with crypto playing a central role in it

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It sounds enticing and encouraging. But the real problem I think will be in the structuring of the system so that as many people as possible can benefit from it.

Agreed. A particular team has millions of fans round the globe. It may not be possible to give everyone a big fat check but I think loyalty comes into play overtime that the most fans should at least get something.

I'm all for it. But if it's going to be successful, there has to be an objective system that determines who gets what

I reckon the sporting model of the future will have fans taken into consideration in profit sharing, with crypto playing a central role in it

I agree and that gets me so excited. Count me in!

Me too...lol

What Do you Get for Loyalty? — this has gotta be a million dollar question honestly . Funny how the end users (fans) don’t get any financial benefit for their undwindling passion towards their various teams of interests.

But as is the model in large social media platforms where a select group of people take home the majority of profits while the consumers are only rewarded with access to the platform, there could be more moves towards ensuring profits also reach the hands of consumers— The narrative really needs to be changed. It’s high time the cake reached everyone .

Take for instance the massive debt owed by Barcelona sporting club which is in tune of over €1 Billion.

I just hope they get of it in no time.

Very unlikely except they sell off some assets or sell the club.

Wow... That's huge. Feel so sorry for them.

That is absolutely right “fan are not been appreciated as they could be” most teams just play for only their profit and not putting their fans in mind even in some cases the security brutalize their fans

Sports is already accepting crypto and some football clubs are already using it to pay for player fees. The future of crypto is great especially with football

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The number of athletes that are going all in on crypto is really, really encouraging.