Intersection Of Tech And Sports: Where Are We And Where Are We Heading?

Welcome to the first installation of Stine Sports! This is a blog with the purpose of expanding sports commentary from the usual cacophony of Skip Bayless or Stephen A. Smith. Sports commentary has mostly become nonsensical arguing about teams and so opinion-based it can hardly be intellectual or deemed worthy of consumers’ time. Therefore, the purpose of this blog is to discuss the ever-changing landscape of sports business. Sports on a deeply psychological level touches the hearts and minds of all individuals in some capacity.

New Technology We Could See in Sports

NFT‘s

NFT, non-fungible token, is a digital asset that can be bought and owned by an individual. They are powered by blockchain and can be anything from a piece of art, a gif, video, etc. For the sake of this piece, let’s focus on NFT’s from a sports perspective. With a cursory search of various sites to purchase NFT’s, we see athletes already using this platform to create profiles and sell their likeness on electronic sports cards or gifs and videos.

Because this artwork is encrypted on the blockchain, it is protected from being replicated illegally and is controlled by athlete if they want multiples or just a one-of-one edition. They make a share from the sale and the people mining the crypto will also make a portion through mining fees.

Crypto

Let me start by saying cryptocurrencies do not inherently relate to sports. HOWEVER. With the rise of cryptocurrencies, we could very well see these used in replacement of fiat currencies at sporting events and for purchasing of merchandise. While there are some downfalls to crypto, with accelerated transaction speeds and reducing fees per transaction, this could easily be a viable solution to any transactions related to sports.

We have also begun to see a movement of athletes accepting cryptocurrencies as part or even all their salaries. Odell Beckham, signing with the Rams halfway through the 2021 season, took his entire deal with the Rams in Bitcoin. Now, Bitcoin has lost half its value since his signing in November 2021, which could be construed as a bad idea. But it shows the faith in cryptocurrency as a long-term financial solution and will most likely be adopted by more and more athletes.

Integrated Reality

This is in fact something that is already part of sports. When you turn on Sunday Night Football and you see those starting players or those graphics overlayed over the field on the broadcast, that’s integrated reality! Where this could really get interesting is how it could become a part of the game. I envision integrated reality could start to become part of visors for football players. Imagine being a running back prior to the snap. Your visor shows your play, down and distance, health related statistics like an Apple Watch, what coverage the defense is in, etc. This could make the game so much smarter and more dynamic. Simply an incredible feat of technology.

Virtual reality, different from integrated reality, is also coming into the sports realm. The Brooklyn Nets are becoming the first sports franchise to participate in the Metaverse. Will we see more teams or more leagues broadcast games in the Metaverse?

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