Deadfellaz and DraftKings Announce First-of-its-Kind Collaboration Ahead of Halloween Weekend
BOSTON & LOS ANGELES – October 20, 2022 – Deadfellaz, a global NFT ecosystem, and DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) announced today a collaboration to transform 13 professional football players into limited-edition NFT player cards with Deadfellaz IP. Slated to drop on October 25th on DraftKings Marketplace, the collectibles will be a must-have item in any NFT collection and will be playable exclusively in Reignmakers Football contests, DraftKings’ NFT-based fantasy football-style game where customers can build a collection of NFT player cards with which they can draft a lineup for use in fantasy sports-style games.
Players that will be transformed into Deadfellaz include Nick Chubb, Jalen Hurts, Alvin Kamara, Kyler Murray, Deebo Samuel and Matthew Stafford. Additional players will be announced at a later date. The previously announced agreement between DraftKings and the NFLPA facilitated by OneTeam, which is leading the NFLPA’s video games and trading cards business, grants DraftKings licensing rights for active NFL players, including the authentic use of name, image and likeness.
As part of the collaboration, the collection will feature first-of-its-kind utility, including access to gated Deadfellaz-themed contests and exclusive NFT prizing. Collectors of these limited-edition player cards will also be eligible to compete for a share of the over $1,000,000 in prizing available in Reignmakers Football contests every week during the professional football season. Just in time for Halloween weekend, the player cards will be eligible for lineup inclusion starting on October 30th and can be used for the remainder of the season.
Having already become one of the most well-known Web3 brands in pop culture, Deadfellaz has a robust following in the sports and entertainment industries and beyond. The brand’s reach beyond Web3 extends to various influential entertainers and culture shifters, including Reese Witherspoon, Alexis Ohanian, and recently announced DraftKings Marketplace brand ambassador Steve Aoki.
“Deadfellaz have established themselves as one of the most culturally relevant and impactful NFT projects in Web3 to date,” said Matt Kalish, DraftKings co-founder & President, DraftKings North America. “With this collaboration, we are connecting our communities to create a Reignmakers Football experience with a Deadfellaz twist that we believe you can’t get anywhere else. We are excited for The Horde to experience Reignmakers Football in time for the Halloween weekend’s football matchups.”
“We are thrilled to be working with DraftKings on this collection,” said Betty & Psych, Co-Founders of Deadfellaz. “We love building bridges from the Web3 space into other communities like fantasy sports fans. This collaboration with Reignmakers provides a strong opportunity to innovate and bring the value of Web3 to the fantasy sports industry.”
The collaboration is one of the multiple activations that Deadfellaz is announcing this month – including their biggest live event yet: DEADZONE LA, taking place on Halloween weekend. The one-night, ticketed event is expected to be a must-attend Halloween event of the season, a celebration where The Horde will gather for a night to remember, featuring live art and music in both the real world and the metaverse. The ticketed event takes place on October 29th in LA’s Arts District at Skylight ROW DTLA. For more information, visit the Deadfellaz Medium page here, and tickets are available at tokenproof.xyz/events/deadzonela.
You can purchase NFTs from the DraftKings-Deadfellaz collaboration in the U.S. and play in Reignmakers Football contests wherever they are currently offered (currently not CT, HI, ID, LA (select parishes), MT, NV, OR, PA, and WA). For more information on DraftKings Marketplace, Reignmakers Football and upcoming drops, customers can visit marketplace.draftkings.com. For more information on Deadfellaz, visit deadfellaz.io.
About Deadfellaz
Deadfellaz is a collection of 10,000 undead NFTs living on the Ethereum blockchain, launched in August 2021. The Deadfellaz genesis project came from a love of horror and a strong desire to fill a gender void across popular blockchain avatar projects. With a reputation for being one of the most diverse and inclusive communities in Web3, Deadfellaz does everything with community members top of mind. The collection has made $80 million in sales to date and has evolved into an ecosystem with millions of followers, a total volume of sales equaling close to 30K ETH, and nearly 7,000 unique holders called “The Horde,” which includes Reese Witherspoon, Lionel Richie, Pussy Riot, Steve Aoki, Lil Baby, and Alexis Ohanian.
About DraftKings
DraftKings Inc. is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to fuel the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. Headquartered in Boston, and launched in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings is the only U.S.-based vertically integrated sports betting operator. DraftKings is a multichannel provider of sports betting and gaming technologies, powering sports and gaming entertainment for operators in 17 countries. The company operates iGaming in 5 states through its DraftKings brand, as well as operating Golden Nugget Online Gaming, an award-winning iGaming product and iconic gaming brand, in 3 states. DraftKings’ Sportsbook is live with mobile and/or retail betting operations in the United States pursuant to regulations in 20 states and in Ontario, Canada. DraftKings’ daily fantasy sports product is available in 6 countries internationally with 15 distinct sports categories. DraftKings is both an official daily fantasy and sports betting partner of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA TOUR and UFC as well as an official daily fantasy partner of NASCAR. Launched in August 2021, DraftKings Marketplace is a digital collectibles ecosystem designed for mainstream accessibility that offers curated NFT drops and supports secondary-market transactions. DraftKings also owns Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN), a multiplatform broadcast and content company.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this press release are “forward looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside DraftKings’ control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see DraftKings’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. DraftKings does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
