“Own part of the game”: AFL’s debut NFT project sells out in 12 hours, despite reports of payment hiccups

The AFL’s first-ever official NFT collection sold out in less than 12 hours, the football league claims, despite bank payment hiccups reportedly keeping some would-be buyers from the new footy tokens.

The AFL and Melbourne-based Web3 advisory firm Be Media launched the Ripper Skipper 2022 collection on Wednesday, marking the debut NFT collection from the league’s AFL Mint project.

The Ripper Skipper 2022 launch consisted of 3800 digital trading cards packs, written onto the blockchain, featuring the images of real-life AFL team captains like Melbourne’s Max Gawn and Geelong’s Joel Selwood.

Each ‘pack’ cost the equivalent of $49 each, with the drop netting AFL Mint some $130,000.

Packs also included a set number of ‘Genesis balls’, promising extra benefits to holders as the AFL Mint project expands.

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The league claims those benefits could eventually include real-world experiences, including ticketing upgrades for AFL matches, hospitality bonuses, and exclusive merchandise.

Jordan Fogarty, CEO and founder of Be Media, said the project would help deepen the connection between the AFL and its fans, who can now ‘own’ aspects of their beloved sport.

“We see the AFL Mint program as being a way that fans can engage and support the AFL in a new way — a chance to own part of the game and experience it in ways they didn’t think possible,” he told SmartCompany.

“We want to create a program that allows every AFL fan to participate.”

The next ‘drop’ will arrive in a month, Fogarty added.

Trading and marketplace functionalities — key selling points for established sporting league NFT systems, like the NBA’s Top Shot collection — are yet to materialise.

AFL Mint expects those offerings to arrive in 2023.

AFL Mint launches first NFTs after market tumbles

While sporting bodies like the Australian Open have found commercial success through NFT launches, the AFL Mint project represents the first time a national sporting league has entered the Web3 arena.

However, the project is not the league’s first dalliance with the blockchain world, as cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com this year signed a five-year partnership with the league.

The market value of many high-profile NFT projects has tumbled in recent months, as economic volatility convinced many investors to pull their money away from speculative digital assets.

“We had significant interest in the lead up to the project, but given the market conditions lately we are extremely pleased with the outcome,” Forgarty said.

System will “improve” after reports of payment struggles

Although each of the 3800 packs were sold to waitlisted buyers, some fans described difficulty purchasing the new footy tokens.

Taking to the AFL Mint Discord — the project’s official chat room — some users described difficulty transferring funds from their bank to Moonpay, the service handling cryptocurrency transactions on the Blocto, AFL Mint’s chosen wallet system.

A number of users complained their cash transfers were blocked by their banks.

“We will improve this for future drops,” an AFL Mint spokesperson told Discord users.

“We appreciate that not everything went to plan and the frustration it may have caused.”