The sports memorabilia market is set to hit US$227.2 billion by 2032, with US$92 billion comprising of non-fungible token (NFT) sports collectibles, according to market research and consultancy firm Market Decipher.
The estimated sports memorabilia market size is US$26 billion in 2021 with NFT sports collectibles currently estimated at US$1.4 billion.
The report goes on to say that even though the NFT category is expanding significantly more quickly due to its recent industrial infancy and rapid acceptance, the memorabilia industry continues to dominate the sports collectible market.
According to Market Decipher, several factors have contributed to a sharp rise in the price of sports collectibles in recent years. Increasing baby boomer affluence, the presence of millennials in the market, and an increase in interest from international purchasers are examples of this.
Baseball trading cards held a "remarkable market share" in 2021, while game-used products like balls and jerseys were in high demand. Jerseys for athletic wear currently account for 30% of the market.
Market Decipher predicts that NFTs will undergo a "downward flip" by the end of the year and that the value of cryptocurrencies will also decrease. The NBA Top Shot digital collectibles platform, which has reached over US$1 billion in sales in just two years, is said to still have a ton of room for expansion, according to the report..
Even with memorabilia sales alone, football dominates the sports memorabilia sector in terms of sales per sport by US$2.5 billion.
With over 70% of the market in 2021, the US will dominate the sector regionally.
India is quickly becoming a significant NFT market, and China is still a massive market for collectibles.
