Digital fan engagement company Socios is continuing its fast foray into North American sports via a league-level partnership with MLS that also includes deals with 26 of the league’s 28 clubs. It is the company’s first league-level sponsorship in a team sport on this side of the pond. Financial terms of the multiyear deal were not available. Charlotte FC and DC United are the only clubs that aren’t partnering with Socios. Socios is best known for its efforts with European soccer clubs to create and sell blockchain-backed fan tokens, which allow their holders to participate in various low-level team decisions and access exclusive experiences. 

The MLS partnership doesn’t allow for the sale of fan tokens. MLS Senior VP/Emerging Ventures Chris Schlosser suggested the league might be open to fan tokens in the future, but that it is still “early days” in the evolution of the blockchain space. In the near-term, the company is launching a new U.S.-specific platform this summer, where MLS fans will be able to engage in a range of team-specific activities, such as gameday check-ins, quizzes and polls. By engaging more, fans will have the opportunity to earn rewards ranging from merchandise to tickets and experiences. The deal also gives Socios signage in each of the 26 participating clubs’ facilities, as well as on-site activation at team and league events.

The Socios partnership is an early product of MLS’ new Emerging Ventures team, which Schlosser has led since its formation last fall. He said the growing group’s primary areas of focus have been sports betting and blockchain technology. Socios did not use an agency to broker the deal with MLS. Socios also has deals with 28 NBA, 14 NFL and 14 NHL teams, none of which involve the sale of fan tokens. But its stateside deals with the UFC, PFL and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing do involve fan tokens.

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Like cryptocurrency, the monetary value of fan tokens fluctuates, meaning they come with investment risk. Most major North American sports properties haven’t yet been willing to associate themselves with that risk. Socios Chief Strategy Officer Max Rabinovitch attributed the reticence of many North American sports properties on fan tokens to the “vagueness of the current state of how the U.S. government looks at and treats various types of crypto assets,” something he said doesn’t exist in other markets where the company operates. Ultimately, however, he said it will be up to Socios to convince them that it’s in their best interest to do so. “It’s our job right to make sure that our partners are comfortable with the way we’re going to do things and for us to find agreements to do it together,” Rabinovitch added.