NFT makers, looking to keep their products relevant, are now offering real-life ownership of livestock and redefining the term “bull market”.
Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has partnered with SmartMedia Technologies (SMT) in a three-year deal to launch a branded NFT marketplace, which includes digital trading cards and fan tokens.
SMT will also unveil an NFT sweepstakes as part of a new loyalty program, where the winner will receive a ‘1 of 1’ PBR Bucking Bull NFT and receive honorary status as an official PBR stock contractor. PBR is making arguably its most aggressive push to boost engagement and bring new audiences into the fold.
“It brings in a whole new demographic, often a younger, tech-savvy one, and it introduces them to the sport,” PBR chief revenue officer Josh Baker said. “And hopefully they like it, engage with it and stay.”
With the help of its new licensee, PBR aims to deliver a program that will revolutionize how sports leagues incentivize fans, who can earn and collect tokens using the SMT technology. The chance to win ownership of a bull is the introduction PBR hopes will get fans initially engaged.
The winning fan will have contractor credentials and ceremonial ownership of a bucking bull owned by Chad Berger, the top stock contractor in PBR history. The NFT holder’s name will be listed anytime the bull’s ownership is referenced, including in-arena signage, or on PBR media properties like TV broadcasts and its website. The inaugural winner won’t have equity stake in the bull, but Baker says that could change in the future as the organization rolls out more NFT-related fan engagement contests.
The winner will have access to six events per year (as long as the bull is competing). PBR, which garners hundreds of stock contractors, values most bucking bulls in the six-figure range, with some of the best bloodlines rising as high as $500,000, according to American Bucking Bull Incorporated (ABBI).
The eight-week sweepstakes will kick off at the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas (Nov. 3-7) with a winner named at the season-opening PBR Monster Energy Buck Off on Jan. 7 at Madison Square Garden.
PBR parent company Endeavor, which also owns UFC, continues to make strides in the NFT digital collectibles space. The media and talent giant was an early investor in Dapper Labs, which will soon release a UFC version of NBA Top Shot. UFC and Panini America also recently launched a line of NFTs.
Backed by the sprawling company, PBR hopes to duplicate some of the early NFT success that the mixed marital arts promotion has found. A leader in NFT technology since 2018, SMT will mint and distribute PBR NFT collectibles (top riders, top moments), with a portion of the royalties going to the bull owners and riders featured on the assets. The ‘PBR Stockyard’ marketplace will launch early next year.
