Brazilian football NFTs have a R$ 30,000 sticker and a chance of profit from resale

Investing in young players with high return potential can be a very profitable strategy in football. A similar strategy has been reproduced by the company Tero Labs, responsible for creating the first NFTs in Brazilian football. The name of the project is called Rough Diamonds, which in Portuguese means Rough Diamonds.

They are digital figurines that can be purchased through "packages" and subsequently sold on the secondary market. The inspiration, said Bruno Pessoa, co-founder of Tero Labs, came from the success of NBA Top Shot,   which was created in 2020 and has already moved R$ 200 million in just one day .

BRL 30,000 sticker

Launched last year, Brazilian football NFTs still move much less money. But the numbers are already impressive. The biggest sale cost $30,000. It was a legendary player figurine  Endrick , do  Palm trees , 16 years old. Of unique rarity, the sticker gave the right to the shirt used in his professional debut. Considered one of the most promising in Brazil,  the player already has a contract signed with Real Madrid, where he will go when he turns 18 .

"The figurine belongs to the buyer and may be resold in the future, eventually, for a higher price", said Bruno Pessoa.

In addition to the contract with Endrick, Tero Labs has a license with ten other promising young players in Brazilian football. Among them are Luis Guilherme, also from Palmeiras, Flamengo supporters Matheus França and Matheus Gonçalves, and Corinthians player Luiz Gustavo. Each of these players has 101 stickers: 2 legendary (one of which is the player himself), 29 epic and 70 rare.

After acquisition, the stickers are entitled to points, depending on the performance of the players in official matches.  The points acquired, which vary according to the rarity of the stickers, can be used to purchase exclusive items at Tero Labs, such as autographed boots and shirts and even captain's armbands used in official matches. The better the athlete's performance, the more points the sticker owner earns.

The counting of these athletes' points, explained Pessoa, will not have an expiration date. That is, these stickers will continue to generate points, even if the player is transferred to another club or even to another country's league.

Legendary Endrick sticker on OpenSea

Diamond: from rough to cut

As the athlete matures, the tendency is for his statistics to improve over time, generating even more points for the sticker owner. But each player will only have their stickers issued once. Therefore, the only way to acquire an NFT from Endrick, Matheus França or another player with a sticker already released is through OpenSea, which works as a secondary market for NFTs .

"The main objective is not to increase the value of the sticker. But as it is a finite object, the increase in demand will naturally increase the value of the sticker", commented Pessoa.

Even if still quite recent, this market already transacts relevant amounts. The highest value, said the co-founder of Tero Labs, was also an Endrick sticker. Of rare category, the collectible was sold for R$ 2,200. Each package containing a rare or epic figurine of a potential superstar was sold for US$ 100. Legendary ones (with the exception of those delivered directly to athletes) are sold at auction.

Vasco figurines: the new success of Tero Labs

But even those who don't have hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to spend on Brazilian football NFTs can also join in the fun. This was possible thanks to a partnership between Tero Labs and Vasco.

In this project, each package cost R$ 11.11, giving the right to a sticker of one of Vasco's players. Started in April, the project with Vasco was in great demand, with lots being sold out within an hour. In just six days, 1,000 packages were sold. Each Vasco player, said Pessoa, will have 1,111 cards: 1 legendary, 10 epic, 100 rare and 1,000 common.

As in the Rough Diamonds project, Vasco's stickers will earn points, depending on the athlete's performance in official matches and their rarity level. The difference is that, even because they are cheaper, these stickers will only count points within a season, but they can still be traded on the secondary market.

The intention, said Bruno Pessoa, is to expand this project to other Brazilian football clubs and other Latin American countries. "We have that intention, but we want to leave the whole operation with Vasco round before we start with new partnerships, since the right of image is settled individually."