In a memo issued this week, the National Football League has declared that it will allow its players to enter sponsorship contracts with crypto-related companies, CNBC confirms. Although this is a huge step forwards, when it comes to the NFL’s involvement with digital assets, it comes with its restrictions.
While players and clubs will have the permission to seek partnership and get financial help through crypto, they will not be directly allowed to promote the crypto-based companies by using their logo, for example. Moreover, the contracts may not last longer than three years.
“Clubs will continue to be prohibited from directly promoting cryptocurrency,” reads the memo. “In this evolving regulatory environment, it remains essential that we proceed carefully when evaluating potential commercial opportunities involving blockchain technologies, and conduct appropriate diligence on all potential partners and their business models.”
The NFL itself is said to be exploring the possibilities of working with companies that provide NFT support. The word is that this fact might as well be the reason for the strict rules that they have presented to the players and clubs.
At the end of the day, the permission to seek crypto sponsorship comes as good news for the NFL players, as some of them have previously entered such partnerships, for example, to work on their own NFTs. The new deal might open several new doors for them.