The NRL’s deal with Swyftx, which will include naming rights from 2023 to the Bunker, its multimillion-dollar video review system, was hailed as “the largest cryptocurrency partnership of any sport in Australia”. Swyftx employs 200 people, but is growing so quickly it has 100 positions vacant.
But the NRL’s agreement hasn’t pleased everyone.
Gambling reform advocate Reverend Tim Costello argued cryptocurrency was liable to even less regulation than sports betting, and young men like NRL players were particularly susceptible to the volatile nature of investing in the digital stock.
Newton agrees, and says the players’ union is aware of the risk cryptocurrency carries for its members.
“We are aware of the interest in the cryptocurrency market as a potential revenue source for athletes and more will follow,” he said.
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“We have seen both huge gains and serious market corrections with cryptocurrency which highlights the dynamic nature of the sector. It is important to remember that right now it remains unregulated, which means it carries a significant risk for investors.”
The discussion about non-fungible tokens is expected to also be part of the upcoming collective bargaining talks between the NRL and players, such as Ryan Papenhuyzen and Kenny Bromwich who have established their own collections of NFTs on a blockchain.
South Sydney were the first NRL club to sign a deal with Sportemon Go, a physical and virtual tokenised sports start-up company.
The Rabbitohs said the club would work towards plans to release a series of digital assets via NFTs.
NRL players being paid in crypto? It might be closer than you think
Source: Philippines Alive
