NFL labor union is out almost $42 million thanks to crypto collapse

A report from The Athletic indicates that the National Football League Players Association, a labor union for NFL players, has been unable to collect nearly $42 million it is owed in licensing and sponsorship revenue. The Athletic cited sources suggesting the issue was directly related to the collapse of the crypto industry, and to its partners renegotiating licensing deals due to the downturn.

The amount is owed by affiliate OneTeam Partners. In April, Sportico reported that sports NFT platform Dapper Labs had discussed restructuring its deal with the NFL and NFLPA due to an extremely rocky year. So too had DraftKings, which had signed a deal with the NFLPA for its "Reignmakers" player trading card NFTs.