Anyone who has kept a binder of trading cards, run a fantasy roster or held onto a season ticket stub already understands what Web3 is trying to sell: proof that something is yours. Blockchain technology adds a record of ownership to cards, tickets and in-game items, and sports fans are among the first audiences tested with it.
TL;DR: Web3 gives fans verifiable ownership of digital cards, tickets and game items. Adoption is real but uneven: wallet activity in blockchain gaming jumped in early 2025 and then cooled while funding dropped sharply.
That mix of promise and swings is worth understanding before you buy a digital card or back a project. This piece explains how the pieces work, what the numbers say and what to check first.
From trading cards to digital collectibles
A digital collectible is a card, image or item whose ownership is recorded on a blockchain, usually as an NFT. If you hold the NFT in your wallet, the record shows that you own it, and you can sell or trade it without asking the company that created it. That is the difference from a card in a typical app, where the company controls the account.
It is also worth knowing what ownership does not mean. Owning a collectible does not give you rights over a player’s image beyond what the issuer’s terms say, and its value can fall as easily as rise.
Sports is a natural fit because the culture already runs on collecting, trading and bragging rights. Peiko, a web3 game development company, built Lokka, a UK client’s NFT marketplace where local and student sports teams create their own tokens and collectible player cards. The platform runs a core Lokka token on the Hedera network, club sub-tokens, an open marketplace and NFT-based match tickets with redemption and validation, and it was built as a PWA to avoid app-store fees. The work ran from January 2022 to September 2024 over 55 sprints.
Tickets, fantasy and in-game items on-chain
Tickets are the easiest case to picture. A ticket recorded as an NFT can be checked at the gate and marked as used, which makes copying harder and gives the issuer a record of who holds it. Lokka’s match tickets work this way, with redemption and validation built in.
Fantasy-style games and in-game items follow the same idea. A player card or item can carry over between games, be traded between users and keep a visible history. For a fan, that turns a throwaway reward into something that lasts past the season.
For fantasy players, the appeal is continuity. A card that carries your history, such as when you got it and what it was traded for, can matter more to a collector than a one-season reward. The catch is that it only holds value if other people still care about the game it came from.
What the numbers say
DappRadar’s January 2025 report, as counted 7 million daily unique active wallets in Web3 gaming, up 386% from January 2024, out of 26.7 million across all dapps. DeFi stayed about 1% ahead of gaming on that measure
The mood changed within months. DappRadar’s Q2 2025 review found that blockchain gaming activity fell 17% quarter on quarter to 4.8 million daily unique active wallets. Blockchain gaming investment was $73 million that quarter, down 20% from Q1 and 93% from Q2 2024, and about 74.8% of the funding went to infrastructure rather than game studios.
None of these figures is specific to football or the NFL. Together they say that interest can spike and then fade, and that money is going to the technology under games more than to games themselves.
Risks fans and studios should understand
- Prices of collectibles can be volatile and markets can be thin.
- Smart contract bugs can put assets at risk.
- Rules around digital assets differ by country and can change.
- The company behind a collectible can shut down, even if your NFT stays on the chain.
What to look for in a Web3 sports project
- Clear terms on what ownership includes and what it does not.
- A wallet experience that a casual fan can handle.
- Transparent fees for minting, trading and withdrawing.
- Evidence of security testing or audits.
- A way out: can you sell, transfer or export what you hold?
If you are curious, start small. Try a free or low-cost collectible first, learn how the wallet works, and only then decide whether it is worth more of your time or money.
Do I need crypto to use a Web3 sports app?
Often yes, at least a wallet, though some apps let you pay by card and handle the wallet for you. Check the terms before you buy.
Are NFT tickets legitimate?
They can be, when the organizer controls validation at the gate. Buy only from the official seller named by the event.
What is play-and-own?
A model where items you earn or buy in a game are recorded on a blockchain and belong to your wallet, so you can trade them outside the game.
Are digital collectibles an investment?
Treat them as collectibles, not as a safe store of value. Prices can fall, and this article is not financial advice.
How are these assets secured?
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com
