The Tennessee Titans football team made history a few days ago when it announced it would be accepting bitcoin as a method of payment for tickets and other items, making it the first football team to say “yes” to crypto in this way.
Titans Say “Yes” to Crypto
Digital currencies like bitcoin were initially designed to serve as payment tools that could potentially shove fiat currencies, checks, and credit and debit cards to the side. However, this has been a slow journey given that many of these assets come with heavy volatility, which makes it hard to predict where their prices will land. As a result, many businesses stand to lose out on profits if they accept crypto, which is why so many have been reluctant to move in a crypto-loving direction, and to an extent, we can’t really blame them.
Consider the following scenario: somebody walks into a store or business somewhere and buys roughly $60 worth of merchandise with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the company does not transfer the BTC into fiat right away and about 24 hours go by. The next day, the price of bitcoin has gone down, meaning that $60 is now worth $40. While the customer gets to keep everything he or she bought, the company has lost money in the end. Is this a fair situation? Not everybody thinks so.
Companies and organizations like the Titans are bringing the dreams behind bitcoin’s creation closer to reality. According to a recent statement, executives of the team will accept bitcoin payments for season tickets, PSLs, suites, Nissan Stadium events, and even sponsorship opportunities with the Titans.
In the future, the team hopes it can eventually expand its bitcoin acceptance to single tickets, food and beverages, and Titan-related merchandise such as hats and clothing. The company garnered advice from asset fund UTXO Management based in Nashville prior to making the jump to crypto acceptance.
Sports and Crypto… The Perfect Match?
David Bailey – a partner at UTXO Management – explained in an interview:
We’re proud to partner with the Tennessee Titans as they start their bitcoin journey and offer fans a new way to pay. 2022 is a special year as we continue to work with professional sports teams to help educate and further mass adoption of bitcoin. The Titans are a top NFL franchise and a natural fit for this partnership.
The line between the sports world and the crypto world is becoming heavily blurred as of late. This is arguably thanks to the efforts of early sports-crypto pioneers like Russell Okung of the Carolina Panthers football team. In early 2021, he shocked the world when he announced he would be taking half his $13 million+ salary and converting half of it to bitcoin, claiming that BTC was “power.”
