Are Conor McGregor & Co. Pocketing NFT Profits Like LeBron James & Other NBA Players?

NFTs seem to have taken over the sports arena. Non-fungible tokens are now available in the entertainment, arts, and even sports field. Sports leagues have started taking advantage of this new trend. For example, the LeBron James dunk NFT is quite popular. However, UFC fighters are losing out on a lot of money.

As per an article published by ‘The Guardian‘ in 2021, Top Shots charges a 5% transaction fee on sales. This 5% is then shared among Top Shots, the NBA, and its players’ union. This is a piece of good news because players who are paid low make just as much money from NFTs.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about UFC fighters. The promotion has partnered with Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain for their NFT business. However, they do not need to share the revenue with their athletes. This is because UFC fighters are considered independent contractors and thus, there is no union to push to share the revenue with the fighters.

The article further reported that sports leagues generally pay around 47-50% of their revenue to the athletes. But the UFC has been sharing just 16-19% of the generated revenue with its fighters, historically. Owing to such a stronghold over their fighters, people have been demanding that the UFC increase fighter’s pay. One such person who has been advocating this is boxer Jake Paul.

READ MORE- Who Are the Top Five Richest UFC Fighters in 2021?

As per ‘The Guardian,’ the LeBron James dunk NFT sold for about $400,000 in 2021. With several UFC stars having similar star power, the UFC’s NFT revenues have been doing great too.

UFC to share 50% of NFT revenue with fighters?

As per ‘MMA Mania‘, the promotion will be sharing about 50% of the NFT sales with their athletes. With several big moments happening in UFC fights, there will surely be a lot of great NFTs. Further, with larger-than-life athletes, the UFC’s NFT venture has been doing extremely well.

According to the UFC Strike Twitter post, their NFTs were sold out within just four hours of their launch. Their first pack was sold for five million dollars. Thus, the digital collectibles add another source of income for the fighters. Fighters like Francis Ngannou are a popular choice for NFTs.

Have you purchased any UFC NFT? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch this story: Everything You Need To Know About the UFC Strike NFT Collection