The 10 most expensive sports NFTs of all time

Sports enthusiasts, get your digital wallets out if you’ve been on the internet recently. Today we’ll be discussing some of the most expensive sports NFTs in history. 
An NFT is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on the blockchain but differs from a cryptocurrency, which is fungible and interchangeable. It is a form of digital ledger that can be sold and traded with a buyer.
An NFT can be associated with a particular digital or physical asset including but not limited to, arts, songs, sports highlights and other types of digital files. It uses blockchain technology to provide verifiable proof of the item the NFT is associated with. 
However, just like purchasing a limited-edition signed and numbered print of a photograph does not transfer copyright ownership of the photograph to the purchaser, purchasing an NFT does not necessarily confer any of the intellectual property (i.e. copyright) in the subject matter of the NFT. 
The underlying intellectual property right may be transferred by a smart contract associated with the NFT, but caution should be exercised here to make sure that no conflict exists between what is in the smart contract and what is in the terms of the website or platform on which the NFT is created or purchased.
So without any further ado, let’s dive into it and take a look at the 10 most expensive sports NFTs of all time. 

Also Read – What is an NFT? How do NFTs work? Is it worth the investment?

Honourable mentions

15. Micheal Jordan Signed Dream Team Ball 1992: US$1.06 million 

14. GlitchKicks Trophy Room Chicago: US$1.08 million 

14. AC Milan’s No. 1s, 5 Pack: US$1.08 million 

14. Beastly Baller Dragoon: US$1.08 million 

11. Kobe Bryant’s Last Tweet: US$1.9 million 

The 10 most expensive NFTs

10. Mookie Betts Legendary (US$2.05 million)

It is not hard to see why the value of the Mookie Betts digital player token has skyrocketed over the years. He led the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title and was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were also led to a World Series title by him (2020). 

Although Betts is portrayed without a logo, he is still in his Boston Red Sox gear. And the prices can only soar given it was an iconic run for the team three years ago where they lifted the World Series title after a very long time, with the current valuation of the digital token standing at US$2.05 million. 

9. Action Jackson’s Sports Cards (US$2.08 million)

Known as Mr. October to most fans, it is his performances during the playoff leg of the season that set him apart from the rest. With five World Series titles and 14 All-Star appearances, Action (Reggie) Jackson is the greatest clutch player in the history of the game, thus making this one one of the most straightforward and understandable transactions on this list. For just a shade over US$2 million, you can have the rights to sports cards and sports memorabilia provider JacksonsOfAllTrades’ logo for Action Jackson’s Sports Cards. 

8. Aaron Judge Legendary (US$2.129 million)

Having been drafted by the New York Yankees in 2013, Aaron Judge was an integral part of their setup up until 2018, when injuries and lack of form resulted in some sub-par performances from the Yankees starman. 

It seems that, since his rookie breakthrough season, Judge hasn’t been able to match those heights or even eclipse them. However, for a player of his quality, he looks fit and ready ahead of the 2022 season, with the Yankees gunning for a World Series title. Thus, with his NFT already valued at over US$2 million, imagine how much its value will go up once he wins a World Series with the Yankees. 

8. Alex Morgan Legendary (US$2.129 million)

Alex Morgan is one of the stalwarts of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. She has represented her country 190 times, having scored 115 international goals, while also having co-captained the side along with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2008–2020. She also lifted the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019, while finishing runners-up in 2011. 

Alex Morgan isn’t just one of the best female footballers in the world but also one of the most popular athletes worldwide. She is also the only woman to feature on this list. 

Also Read – The 10 most expensive NFTs of all time

6. Nifty Doge Low Tayl0r.WFT (US$2.15 million)

This pixelated image appears to be an abstract art, but according to Tayl0r.wft, the artist behind this NFT, it is a digital shoe. This is the first custom digital shoe kick-bit created by the digital artist. Although it’s a digital version of a shoe, it’s still considered art. 

The NFT is of ERC-1155 token standard, meaning a series or collection can be minted while its metadata is centralised. In addition to Doge Low, the creator also has a CryptoPunk that is worth up to US$9.2 million. 

5. Rare Diego Maradona 2020-21 (US$4.3 million)

The death of footballing legend Diego Maradona in November 2020 sent the valuation of his collectables soaring through the roof, including the rare 2020-21 digital trading cards. Only 100 blockchains were created for this card, which also features a version of Maradona in his final coaching role for the Argentine club Gimnasia de la Plata. Apart from this, EX Sports marketplace launched the “Maradona NFT Collection”, which consists of ten rare souvenirs of the football legend in 2020. 
Also Read – The legacy of Diego Maradona

4. Micheal Jordan SportPunk (US$5.06 million)

Some of the most expensive NFTs on the market are cryptopunk creations from Larva Labs. And this 8-bit artwork is among some of the highest-selling sports NFTs in the world. 

According to the creator, only 100 of these were made in total, and these sportsPunk versions are all 1/1 creating, meaning they were minted on the ERC-721 token standard. Furthermore, buying this image of Micheal Jordan means buying the full commercial rights to the image as well. 

3. Jermall Charlo: Lions Only GOLD ULTIMATE (US$19.1 million)

Unlike some of the other top items on this list, the digital, signed card of Houston native and WBC World Middleweight Champion Jermall Charlo is a 1-of-1 Ultimate Gold digital collection, meaning this is the only one that’ll ever be made. 

Charlo’s memorable pose was taken when he was crowned as the WBC World Middleweight Champion after he landed two knockdowns on Dennis Hogan during their 2019 fight. 

2. MLB Champions Brett Gardner (US$21.28 million)

MLB Champions is a blockchain-based simulated baseball game officially licensed by Major League Baseball. This game grants its owner exclusive rights to the New York Yankees centre fielder Brett Gardner in the virtual space – implying his stats. That means the better he plays in a real game, the more valuable his virtual figure becomes. 

While the specifics are unclear, ostensibly this could give the owner of the NFT rights over any pictures of Brett Gardner and consequently any revenue made from those images as well. 

1. Statue of LeBron (US$21.6 million)

Kimani Okearah captured this incredible photo of LeBron James in a tomahawk dunk pose on February 1, 2020. Later, the image became an official sports NFT. 

Okearah grants the owner exclusive, non-commercial rights to the one available copy of the picture and its raw file. Besides, this NFT presents an interesting opportunity: if a future owner were to strike some sort of a deal with the four-time NBA champion for its commercial use, both could profit off of it. 

Last summer, a Toronto-based NFT photographer, Gabriel Di Sante, sold the exclusive LeBron photo for US$555.