Abruptly, DraftKings Reignmakers has shut down it’s NFT marketplace and will not host any further contests for any sports.

DraftKings Reignmakers was a popular platform within the DraftKings suite of products that allowed users to collect NFT cards by buying on the marketplace, in packs, or winning them in contests.

Cards were sold and resold between users for the 2022-23, 2023-2024 NFL season, UFC, and PGA.

Why did DraftKings Reignmakers Shut Down?

The main reason for the shutdown of the site was reportedly due to legal reasons. Recently, NBA Top Shot, the popular NFT site that was one of the main reasons for the boom in NFTs in 2021, settled a lawsuit. Anyone who bought an NBA Top Shot NFT during a set time period and joined the suit was able to claim somewhere around 8-12 cents per NFT.

This was a small recovery of some NFTs on NBA Top Shot that were commonly selling for $1,000s of dollars that are now worth just a handful of dollars.

What Will Happen Next with DraftKings Reignmakers?

DraftKings has said that the NFTs are movable into an NFT wallet. I’m not sure what you can do with them then, I guess sell them on another marketplace?

Additionally, they said there may be some form of a buy-back program coming in the next week. If you have a big and once-lucrative collection you may be able to get back some form of monetary compensation but that remains to be seen.

Why Did this Seemingly Popular Platform Fall?

DraftKings stated it was due to legal reasons and I believe that is true. It seems it was not as profitable as other aspects of their business such as their sportsbook, DraftKings Pick 6, or their Daily Fantasy Sports contests.

A lawsuit certainly wouldn’t help their stock as a public company. With something so unregulated like NFTs where people lose thousands of dollars in some cases in speculation buys, it probably was just a better move to play it safe.

The Rise and Fall of Reignmakers NFTs

It is undoubtedly a tough situation for Reignmakers users now but over the course of the few years it was running it wasn’t much better.

Some users enjoyed great success. Some found out that after the first season their cards dropped significantly in value. There wasn’t much use for them after their current season aside from some low-dollar contests.

The game was speculative and a lot of people got burned. Last year there was a ton of hype around Aaron Rodgers in New York. If you bought one of his cards the price lost nearly all of it’s value just minutes into the season.

Some people may say, “That’s the game you play with something like this.” but others may not take it so lightly.

Overall, it seems that with unregulated things such as NFTs it may just not be worth the risk for large-public companies to dive into this, especially if it makes up just a tiny piece of their revenue.

If you Still want to Play a DraftKings Reignmakers Type of Game

If you’re a risk taker and still want to get in on some Reignmakers-style games, check out Sorare. Sorare started with soccer but now has MLB and NBA under their platform as well.

The game style is almost identical to Reignmakers and Sorare put out a long statement the day of the DraftKings Reignmakers shut down announcement. I’ll share some key quotes:

“At Sorare, we are steadfast in our commitment to building and expanding our fantasy sports products across football (soccer), basketball, and baseball. Our dedication to these sports and our community remains unwavering. We continue to invest in our partnerships with the NBA/NBPA and MLB/MLBPA, and our football partners ensuring that our platform remains the premier destination for sports fans and collectors alike.”

“Thank you for your continued support. Rest assured, the future of Sorare is bright and secure. Today’s developments will not impact our commitment to you or the quality of our platform. Together, we will continue to make strides in the fantasy sports world.”

Play Sorare for free here.