LEARFIELD and RECUR Partner to Bring NFT Opportunities to Colleges and Athletes
By Kristi Dosh
Last Updated on February 28, 2022
LEARFIELD, known for its expertise in college media, sponsorships, fan data, event ticketing, technology and licensing, has announced a multi-year partnership with RECUR, an NFT technology platform, to drive the creation and adoption of collegiate digital products and collectibles. RECUR’s official collegiate experience, NFTU.com, will go live Friday, March 14.
During the course of the partnerships, RECUR will work with LEARFIELD’s integrated companies and its partner universities to deliver:
- Commemorative NFT tickets and packages through Paciolan
- Integration of NFTU.com, the collegiate NFT marketplace, into official athletic websites and apps built by SIDEARM Sports
- Licensing administration and management through CLC
- NFT category-specific college sports marketing sponsorship with LEARFIELD partner institutions
- Product development, asset creation, and brand-sponsorable NFT offerings from LEARFIELD
Student athletes will also have the opportunity to opt into NFT opportunities through this new partnership in conjunction with CLC’s COMPASS NIL deal management and disclosure platform.
“Blockchain technology, and specifically NFTs, provide a new and unique way for college fans to
demonstrate their school spirit, while delivering exciting opportunities for universities and student-athletes alike,” said Cole Gahagan, CEO of LEARFIELD. “Beyond RECUR’s proven track record of innovation and leadership, what’s been most impressive to witness is their commitment to college sports and the significant investments they’ve made already with many universities. The future of college fandom is here.”
Deloitte Global predicts NFTS for sports media will more than double from 2021 to 2022, generating more than $2 billion in transactions. By the end of 2022, the number of sports fans globally who own an NFT sports collectible is expected to top four million.
“NFTs immortalize and celebrate our favorite experiences,” said Trevor George, Co-CEO of RECUR. “Our
collaboration brings the entire collegiate space together as only LEARFIELD can, across on-campus
advertising, ticketing, student-athlete NIL, collegiate indicia, and more. Together, we will provide university partners, and their student-athletes, with brand-building opportunities via a unified experience.”
Colleges and universities can learn more by visiting LEARFIELD.com/NFT. Fans looking
to participate in the official licensed collegiate NFT experience should visit NFTU.com, launching on March 14.
