Explaining The New England Patriots’ Fan Token

The New England Patriots were recently the first NFL franchise to partner with crypto fan token providers, Socios, as the Malta-based company finally made the breakthrough into the world of football. The deal also includes a link up with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s MLS franchise, New England Revolution, making it the first of its kind for soccer in the U.S.

The deal between the Pats, the Revolution, and the blockchain company will initially see Socio branding appear around the facilities, but with the promise of competitions, prizes, and more through the Patriots website and mobile app, it’s got their representatives excited for the future.

Jim Nolan, chief operating officer at Kraft Sports + Entertainment, said: “We are looking forward to collaborating with them, exploring new audience segments, and offering additional fan experiences.” Some of those additional fan experiences could be through the introduction of fan tokens, which would be a ground-breaking move in U.S. sports as the rise of fan tokens has predominately been a European soccer thing, until recently. The Argentinian national soccer team was amongst the early adopters outside of Europe, and teams in Mexico and Columbia have recently taken up the option. Formula 1 teams Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo have also brought the fan token on board as more evidence of the growing influence of the product. But if the Pats were to introduce these tokens, what would fans gain from getting involved?

Those fan experiences that Nolan mentioned are at the heart of the fan token offer, and this is done by engaging with the fans on a number of subjects. Juventus, the Italian soccer club, has given token owners the chance to debate which music should be played when they score a goal as one example. Token owners are currently getting access to exclusive discounts on club merchandise, exclusive VIP tours, and it’s suggested that the clubs will be canvassing opinions from token owners on subjects like the naming of training facilities too. Further advances could see augmented reality features where fans can go on a ‘token hunt’ around the stadium to up their stake, and in some instances, live in-game tokens have been made available too. It arguably goes beyond engagement and makes the fan more of a participant in their favorite team.

It’s easy to see why sports organizations worldwide have adopted the fan token to their offering to supporters; they have been proven to help add millions of dollars to the organizations, with 50% of each sale being added to their bank balance. It’s giving clubs a new source of digital revenue, which is proving to be very profitable, but they also bring fans closer to their teams; after all, without the fans, it just wouldn’t be the same.

While the fan token has yet to come to fruition in the NFL, they are a growing phenomenon proving to be very popular, with many clubs selling out of their initial allocation very quickly as people around the world are snapping them up. Although the Pats aren’t amongst the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year, they are leading the race to introduce a new way of interacting with their fans that could soon be the envy of others around the league.