Mumbai Indians Floats Tender To Build NFT Solutions

Franchisee cricket team Mumbai India has floated a request for proposal (RFP) for the development and monetisation of its digital intellectual properties in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

“ISPL invites proposals from global and Indian entities to create and launch the NFTs based on its existing IPs and leverage Mumbai Indians’ global brand value,” noted a statement from the franchise. 

ISPL refers to Indiawin Sports Private Limited (ISPL), which is the parent company of Mumbai Indians, which, in turn, is owned by the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). 

As per details available on the website, the RFP can be availed by interested parties on payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 1 Lakh (including GST for Indian entities). The RFP will be open for purchase till January 17. 

The company did not disclose the detailed terms and conditions governing the RFP process including eligibility criteria, rights, obligations, among others. 

ISPL will vet the application and will then shortlist the candidate to develop and monetise its IPs in the form of NFTs and leverage the team’s global brand value.

With this, Mumbai Indians has become the first IPL team to have sought bids for developing its very own NFTs. This comes even as other franchises are also working on developing their own digital collectables and creating new revenue streams.

Mumbai Indians claim to be the most successful team in the Indian Premier League, with 5 IPL titles in its kitty. The franchise also has a strong digital presence with as many as 7.9 Mn followers on Twitter and 10.7 Mn followers on Instagram. In total, MI boasts of more than 50 Mn followers across multiple social media platforms. 

In a recent report released by global brand valuation agency Brand Finance, Mumbai Indians was valued at $83 Mn in 2022, up 4% year-on-year (YoY) from 2021. 

Cricket & NFTs

From being touted as the next big thing at the end of 2021 to being spoken about in whispers in India at the end of 2022, non-fungible tokens have had a bumpy ride these past few years. 

The NFT craze of 2021 saw big names such as Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan partner with NFT startups to launch their own collection of NFTs. But, as funding winter gripped the Web3.0 space, cracks started to emerge. 

The only major announcement related to space in 2022 came in the form of cricket NFT startup Rario securing $120 Mn in a funding round led by Dream Capital. 

But while the industry has been hit by a downturn, it aims to lean on to cricket to scale its offerings and revenue further. Cricket is one of the biggest sports in the world with more than a billion fans globally. Even within that, IPL continues to be the single biggest cricket franchise sporting event in the world and grabs the most eyeballs. 

The NFT ecosystem wants to leverage this to further build its course. On similar lines, the diversification could help Mumbai Indians generate a parallel source of income while furthering its global value amongst audiences. 

As per a report, the global NFT market was pegged at $11.3 Bn in 2021 and is estimated to surge further to $231 Bn by 2030.