{"id":328576,"date":"2024-08-21T18:48:34","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T23:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=328576"},"modified":"2024-08-22T09:55:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T14:55:55","slug":"nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/","title":{"rendered":"NFLPA Suit Against DraftKings Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the labor union for the league\u2019s athletes, filed suit against DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and could seek financial damages relating to the recent closure of the gaming company\u2019s nonfungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace.<\/p>\n

\"NFLPA\"
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) logo. The union is suing DraftKings. (Image: Beckett<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In late July, the online sportsbook operator announced the closure of DraftKings Marketplace<\/a> and the halting of Reignmakers fantasy sports game that was based on the NFTs sold in the marketplace amid mounting legal challenges. In a civil suit filed in US Federal Court in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, the NFL players union said it wants monetary compensation for an \u201canticipated breach of contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

More details on the litigation are sparse because related documents are currently sealed by the court. A cover sheet is visible and that document indicates David Greenspan, an antitrust, sports, and complex-commercial litigator with New York-based Inston & Strawn LLP, is representing the NFLPA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

DraftKings launched the NFT marketplace in July 2021<\/a>. In December 2021, the gaming company announced an agreement with OneTeam Partners, the group licensing partner of the NFLPA, that granted the gaming company \u201clicensing rights for active NFL players\u201d to be used on the Reignmakers fantasy sports platform.<\/p>\n

NFLPA Could Be Seeking $32 Million from DraftKings<\/h2>\n

With the court documents currently sealed, identifying how much the NFLPA is seeking from DraftKings<\/a> is tricky, but it\u2019s possible that amount is $32.39 million.<\/p>\n

\n

That\u2019s the amount attributable to OneTeam Partners listed in the accounts receivable section of the NFLPA\u2019s 2023 annual report. OneTeam is its own entity and isn’t directly tied to the NFL or the players union. However, the NFLPA joined its Major League Baseball (MLB) equivalent and RedBird Capital Partners in founding the licensing company in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

OneTeam brokered the initial deal between the NFLPA and DraftKings as well as a December 2022 accord under which \u201cselect professional football players into limited-edition player cards with a superhero twist using Pixel Vault\u2019s signature intellectual property,\u201d according to a DraftKings statement.<\/p>\n

OneTeam\u2019s relationship with the NFLPA\u00a0 appears strong as the former renegotiated favorable financial terms for players stemming from the iconic Madden <\/em>video game franchise, as well as payments relating to trading cards.<\/p>\n

Why NFLPA is Taking a Hard Line<\/h2>\n

How the litigation between the NFLPA and DraftKings plays out remains to be seen, but the union protecting use of players\u2019 images and likenesses and deriving compensation from such usage is one of its primary functions.<\/p>\n

\n

Revenue generated from those pursuits and the union\u2019s various investments<\/a> is used to bolster retirement benefits for players and their families, including health and life insurance and pensions. DraftKings has had a relationship with the union since before the proliferation of regulated sports betting in the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The gaming company is also one of the official sportsbook sponsors of the NFL, but that relationship is with the league itself, not the players union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the labor union for the league\u2019s athletes, filed suit against DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and could seek financial damages relating to the recent closure of the gaming company\u2019s nonfungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace. In late July, the online sportsbook operator announced the closure of DraftKings Marketplace and the halting of Reignmakers fantasy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":328578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,60,1074],"tags":[81898,81928,80968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNFLPA DraftKings Suit Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NFLPA Suit Against DraftKings Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFLPA DraftKings Suit Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NFLPA Suit Against DraftKings Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-21T23:48:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-22T14:55:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/NFLPA2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1050\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/\",\"name\":\"NFLPA DraftKings Suit Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/NFLPA2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-21T23:48:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-22T14:55:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"NFLPA Suit Against DraftKings Could Stem from Defunct NFT Product.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nflpa-draftkings-suit-could-stem-from-defunct-nft-product\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/NFLPA2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/NFLPA2.jpg\",\"width\":1050,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) logo. 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