Magic Johnson Invests In Metaverse Gaming Mashup Of Sports, eSports, Gaming, Web3

Basketball great turned business mogul Magic Johnson has invested in SimWin Sports, a digital sports league of teams with sports star and celebrity owners, and purchased football and basketball franchise in SimWin. Other owners include Penny Hardaway, Jerry Rice, Marshall Faulk, LaMelo Ball, and Mike Singletary.

“I’m so excited to be involved with SimWin, which is blazing a trail in one of the hottest new business sectors and has a great team leading the charge,” said Johnson. “This multi-billion-dollar business is about to take off and the SimWin model is an excellent way for sports fans to get involved in this groundbreaking opportunity. I look forward to contributing to its growth and success.”

That’s not what’s interesting about this announcement, however. What’s interesting is that Johnson is investing in a new and growing trend: a mashup blend of gaming, sports, web3, and metaverse.

According to SimWin, the eSports league is “built on proprietary Web3 technology” which isn’t just a game. “Each player ownership presents a fun and unique business opportunity, sharing in multiple league revenue streams, earning salaries, performance bonuses, fantasy sports and secondary marketplace revenues,” the company says.

Crypto has crashed and the bloom is off NFTs for now, but the philosophies and technologies that drive web3 might just be getting started. And blending those with concepts from sports, eSports, fantasy leagues, and gaming is an attempt to build something that, like SimWorld from previous decades, you can both play and strategize.

While, potentially, creating value and earning revenue.

SimWin employs an “AI player performance model, allowing each digital athlete to develop throughout the season—with atrophy, and hot and cold streaks—and to grow throughout their careers,” the company says. That, the claim is, generates the “most accurate simulation of traditional sports” while also unlocking revenue opportunities — in real cold hard cash, the company says — and providing the chance to create and own the next “meta sports super star.”

“Magic has inspired as a transcendent superhero for people of all races, but particularly as a black entrepreneur,” David J Ortiz, Founder and CEO of SimWin Sports, said in a statement. “With his help, SimWin Sports is creating a sports metaverse that will deliver Showtime to sports fans 24/7/365, so they never miss out on the action.”