Competition: How Can You Not Love it?

Good morning. The Sports Road, again. At this point, we're becoming just like an unwanted player on high wages. You just can't get rid of us. Enjoy!

Here's what we got for ya today:

• The Future of Fantasy Football

• Damar Hamlin: New Outrageous Speculation

• Golf x NFT’s: A Butterfly Effect

• Betting Fans, Get Ready

Most valuable public market sports teams

Now, onto the good stuff...

Sorare: Is This The Future of Fantasy Sport Competition?

Sorare is a fantasy sport collection game, with a reach extending to football, NBA and MLB.

Similar to other fantasy football games, the concept revolves around assembling a squad of players who will gain points by performing well in real life.

The twist - players come in the form of NFT’s.

Now look, you may have been one of the lucky ones. You could have cashed in on collecting their football cards early, or joined during their World Cup flurry. In that case, fair play to you.

If you haven’t heard of them, it may be time to rethink…

Over the past few years, Sorare have partnered with international leagues such as the MLS, La Liga, and Ligue 1. Wanting to expand the brand, the company has recently announced a partnership with the Premier League.

• The deal is worth a reported £30 million pounds a year

• The game is seeing a surge in price for current Premier League players

• These cards are projected to sell on the blockchain for record amounts

• The game could act as a rival to the ever-popular Fantasy Premier League

Players like Erling Haaland who had been available on Sorare due to him being at Borussia Dortmund are now being sold for thousands of dollars.

For the sake of my bank account, and more importantly FPL standing, hopefully he can relax a bit 😅

Another Day on The Internet

Alright, you don’t have to tell us. This is a long shot, we know.

Speculation is still circling about Damar Hamlins public appearances.

Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an NFL game last month, watched last week's playoff between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. Dressed head to toe in a red tracksuit, face mask, glasses and hoodie, some fans were left questioning if it was really him.

Additionally, Hamlin took to Twitter to post a photo of himself with this cheeky caption.

He has recently done a video interview thanking fans for support. Here, some people questioned the positioning of his tattoos. So, you tell us. Is it him or not?

All speculation aside, us, as well as the whole sports world, are extremely happy to see him on the road to recovery.

NFT's: What Have You Done to Golf?

If you asked most people what the most boring sport is, a fair few would say golf. Well apparently, they’d be wrong.

Remember when the PGA Tour wouldn’t give Phil ‘Lefty’ Mickleson commercial rights to his replays? Well, that resulted in him leaving the tour and poaching 40 of the world's best players to start a new tour. LIV Gold, funded by the Saudi government.

Remember, this all started as without the rights, he wouldn't be able to start his own NFT brand and solve his gambling problem 😅.

This weekend saw Rory Mcilroy play against Patrick Reed. In other words, PGA vs LIV - intense. The weekend's drama started before a ball was even hit. Earlier in the week, Reed offered his hand to Mcilroy at the driving range. McCilroy ‘missed’ the offer, leaving Reed to walk off and throw a golf tee at the feet of Mcilroy.

All that without even considering the subpoena, Reed allegedly issued to Mcilroy during Christmas 😬

Fast forward 4 days to Sunday and who are the last two golfers in contention to win? You guessed it, Rory and Reed. Fireworks.

Mcilroy Eventually took top spot and gave one more win for the good guys and PGA Tour.

This is a lesson in why you should always share your NFT ideas! Thanks Phil.

THE TRANSFER WINDOW IS CLOSED! Will it Change Forever?

Software company Nordensa is looking to start crowdfunding for football transfers. If achieved:

• Investors could take 3% of the players future earnings if players are signed for new clubs or sign contract extensions.

• The concept will take elements of the heavily profitable sports betting scene

Docea, founder of Nordensa, explained

“If you’re a young player in Bolivia, let’s say, or Ghana, chances are the scouts of Liverpool or Arsenal or Bayern Munich will not simply land in your backyard and see how awesome you are,”

Nordensa predicts that if a player is picked up from the smaller leagues and ends up with Europe’s elite, they can make 5 times their investment. If your crowdfunded player makes it to the Premier League, they predict at least a return of ten times what you put in.

Quick, it’s time to load up FM and scout those future gems.

Quick bites

• Will Still’s side, Stade de Reims, earned a dramatic equaliser against league leaders last weekend: This is the story of the English managers meteoric rise in world Football.

• Rugby is advancing: Smart ball and its revolutionary technology announced for the Six Nations

• The transfer window is over! Here are some of the wildest deadline day saga’s we’ve ever seen.

Meme of the day

Liverpool fans waiting for a midfield signing

Quote of the day

Photo of the day

Cody Rhodes, Royal Rumble Winner.

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Chat to ya on Friday! ☮️