The English Premier League’s plan to shill crypto tokens to fans moved a step closer after it announced its intention to ink a £30 million-a-year deal with a new provider.
Sky News reports that the league was planning to launch the scheme alongside New York-based software giant ConsenSys but will now sit down with its 20 clubs to talk over the proposed new partnership with French start-up Sorare.
ConsenSys reportedly attempted to change the terms of the almost-agreed deal after NFT prices took a dive but now Sorare has apparently swooped in with a more lucrative offer.
If this new partnership were to be confirmed, Sorare, which is backed by French footballer Kylian Mbappe and Japanese tech investor, SoftBank, would work with the Premier League to produce NFTs based on still images.
Earlier this year, The Athletic reported that the Premier League was planning to split its NFTs into two separate categories — still images and videos. While ConsenSys was initially brought on board to handle the stills — a role that will now be taken by Sorare — NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs was potentially earmarked for video duties.
Read more: These six-figure NFTs are down 99%
When the deal between ConsenSys and the Premier League was first floated back in March, potential figures ranged anywhere up to £400 million over four years.
However, the deal was scaled back significantly after the NFT market hit the skids back in June.
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Source: https://protos.com/premier-league-ditches-consensys-picks-sorare-for-nft-launch/