Fan token platform Socios, which can’t sell its usual product to NFL fans under the league’s blockchain policy, is kicking off a major marketing push with 13 team deals in hopes that day will soon come. Socios is becoming a sponsor of the Falcons, 49ers, Eagles, Dolphins, Bears, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Chargers, Buccaneers, Giants, Rams and Commanders, bringing its total team deals to 14, including a one-off with Kraft Sports & Entertainment in November that includes the Patriots.

In European soccer, Socios has worked with several top-tier clubs to create branded tokens. Bought with the cryptocurrency chiliz, the Socios tokens entitle holders to vote on certain low-level team matters — such as what songs will be played in the stadium during the game. These tokens carry investment risk like cryptocurrency itself because the tokens are traded on digital marketplaces.  However, crypto-backed fan tokens remain off-limits in the NFL, even after parts of the league’s blockchain commercial policy were liberalized last month. For now, Socios is comfortable with deals limiting activation to brand building and more familiar fan loyalty and engagement programs, said Chief Strategy Officer Max Rabinovitch. “I want people to know what Socios is and at a 30,000 foot level how it works, so when we are able to do business at a full level, people know who we are and how we work,” Rabinovitch said. “That’s not as short of a road as people think.”

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In December, Socios did a similar tranche of deals with 12 NHL clubs. Rabinovitch said the Malta-based company is confident it will eventually get clearance to operate its product in the NFL. But the path to that day remains cloudy. NFL execs have said they are concerned about the brand and legal risk that comes along with promoting cryptocurrency and similar assets. That problem arose in the U.K. for Socios in December, when advertising regulators ruled that Arsenal did not sufficiently explain the risks of buying crypto-assets in token promotions, or even that a “token” is a cryptoasset that carries investment risk.

This summer, Socios will launch a version of its app for North America intended to familiarize fans. It will include the names and marks of its sponsored teams, and include game-day check-ins, quizzes and other fan engagement tools, but will not involve cryptocurrency. Users can use dollars on those apps. NFL team marks and names will be permitted on that app because it won’t be blockchain-based. Heading into today, Socios had deals with dozens of teams or leagues, including 28 NBA teams, 14 in the NHL, the UFC and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Socios is still in talks with the NFL about a league-level deal, Rabinovitch said. Socios is negotiating these deals directly, without an agency.