Sports and digital coins continued to run into each other throughout 2021. Their synergy has helped both industries in a number of ways. Sports, blockchain and cryptocurrency have increasingly worked together over the past few years. Crypto is using sports to build exposure, and here are some of the ways they're working together.

NFTs Sports teams have issued NFTs to give fans bragging rights. The NBA has turned video highlights from all teams' games into NFT collections. The priciest was the NBA Top Shot, which featured Lebron James. It sold for $230,000. Tiger Woods, Tony Hawks, Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and Simone Biles all offer NFTs now. Adidas also got into the NFT market via Metaverse.

Updated Branding Sports are a great way to give cryptocurrency exposure to a wider audience. Some companies have become sponsors of teams or leagues. Coinbase set up a multi-year plan to be the cryptocurrency partner of the NBA. Luno paired with rugby in South Africa.

Alternative Payments Some sports players have started to accept some of their salary in cryptocurrency. Odell Beckham Jr., Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, Tom Brady and Saquon Barkley are just a few of them. The Perth Heat of Australia started to pay some of its players and staff in Bitcoin.

Bonuses When Tom Brady scored his 600th touchdown pass, the NFL offered the fan one Bitcoin to give it back. At the time, the Bitcoin was worth $62,000. Collectors estimated that the ball itself was worth more than $500,000.

There have been a few sports and cryptocurrency problems. Manchester City and Barcelona cancelled contracts with cryptocurrency firms. Andres Iniesta got warned by a Spanish authority for promoting Binance on his social media. The Spanish authorities later posted that the digital coin market is unregulated and could put people's finances at risk.

It is likely that the partnerships between sports and cryptocurrency will continue to expand. Most analysts expect new partnerships to form between teams or leagues and different cryptocurrency firms. They also anticipate more partnerships between well-known athletes and cryptocurrency businesses. Fans may also decide to get in on it.