DraftKings settles NFL union suit over NFT pay dispute
US sports betting site DraftKings has reached a settlement with the National Football League Players Association, which accused the platform of failing to pay for using NFL player likenesses featured in non-fungible tokens.
DraftKings and the NFLPA said in a Jan. 27 joint letter to New York federal Judge Analisa Torres that they had mediated the suit and reached a settlement in principle pending “a definitive settlement agreement.”
The pair requested a 60-day stay of suit — giving them until March 28 to finalize the settlement. The exact details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Judge Torres, known in the crypto community for handling the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple, must sign off the final settlement agreement.
NFLPA and DraftKings non-binding settlement to letter to Judge Analisa Torres. Source: CourtListener
DraftKings partnered with the NFLPA in 2021 to make collectible NFTs of NFL players that could be traded in a fantasy sports game called Reignmakers.
However, DraftKings shuttered its NFT marketplace last July and stopped paying the NFLPA under the contract, claiming it had a right to terminate after a federal judge found the collectibles fell “within the meaning” of the Securities Act and Exchange Act and thus could be securities.
The NFLPA sued DraftKings in August and appeared to seek around $65 million in damages based on figures shared throughout the lawsuit. However, the final figure asked was redacted in the filing.
The NFLPA also alleged that DraftKings threatened to stop offering the NFTs in 2023, but the parties later agreed to restructure their contract.
The proposed settlement comes less than two weeks before the NFL’s Super Bowl, slated for Feb. 9 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Super Bowl used to host crypto ads from the likes of crypto exchanges Coinbase, Crypto.com and FTX, before FTX collapsed in November 2022.
However, no crypto-related ads were shown in last year’s Super Bowl.
NFT sales increased 2.3% year-on-year to $8.9 billion in 2024 — however, the figure remains low compared to the record $23.7 billion posted in 2022, CryptoSlam data shows.
