WHAT IS AN NFT?

July 2022, Gladiator rolled out its newest and most exciting digital development: Gladiator Cornhole NFTs. We are confident that this new way to participate in cornhole culture with like-minded enthusiasts will help grow the game, and also shine a light on highly-skilled competitors like ACL PRO’s Leston Allen and Adrian Johnson, as well as hard-hitting rookies like Mark Richards & Philip Lopez Jr. 

What is an NFT, Anyway?

In its simplest form, an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a one-of-a-kind, verifiable digital or physical asset that can be exchanged between a creator or seller and a buyer. Each NFT is Non-fungible basically meaning unique. A dollar bill is fungible because if you trade a dollar bill for another dollar bill, you end up with the same thing. Each NFT has a unique code or address that exists on the blockchain which is an online digital ledger or database that records transactions. Think of this as a digital certificate of ownership.

A blockchain is a kind of public ledger, a record of who owns what (and who doesn’t). These blockchains are encrypted so that the information stored within (i.e. who owns what and who doesn’t) is safe. There are multiple blockchains, including the Ethereum blockchain, the Tezos blockchain, and the Solana blockchain. Cornhole NFTs will be on Solana.

(For a quick primer on getting a Solana wallet, take a look at the information provided by Phantom, perhaps the best Solana wallet in the world. Opening a wallet is free, and Phantom has a lot of resources that will help you understand what goes into doing so.)

Sports NFTs are the digital equivalent of trading cards. That digital certificate of ownership we mentioned is the start and end of the discussion when it comes to who owns what, and what they can do with it. Like trading cards, you can buy NFTs, sell them, and trade them — or do nothing at all. 

Sports card collectors likely know that companies like Topps (baseball) and Candy Digital (baseball, football, auto racing, wrestling) have been releasing sports NFTs for about a year now, following the runaway success of NBA Top Shot, the most successful sports NFT product in history with lifetime sales over $1 billion USD. 

Professional sports teams including the the Golden State Warriors and the Montreal Canadiens have sold NFT products as well, legitimizing the practice and allowing for all kinds of sports to be represented. Gladiator is on a mission to bridge the gap between the professional cornhole industry and sports collectors worldwide by offering both digital and physical cornhole NFT collectibles, and we are hopeful that cornhole enthusiasts around the world will embrace this new way of participating in sports collecting, cornhole culture and supporting American Cornhole League and their professional cornhole players.