Two COVID-cancelled seasons have delayed the full launch, but with the 2022/23 Australian Baseball League about to start, one of the league’s franchises is aiming to take a leap into the financial future and change the landscape of sport in Australia.The Perth Heat organisation is moving away from traditional transaction methods to embrace a Bitcoin Standard future, one where, they hope, the players will come out on top.
Headlining the changes, players can chose to have their salaries paid in Bitcoin, whilst everything from game day tickets, food, drinks and merchandise can now be purchased using Bitcoin.
But, the most revolutionary part of the transformation is the introduction of a fan boosting system, where players can be rewarded for their onfield efforts immediately and directly by the audience.Tagged “sats4stats” with a “sats” being the basic unit of Bitcoin, the system allows fans to use a Bitcoin Lightning Wallet to more or less tip players when they see something they enjoy.
It has the potential to unleash a currently untapped revenue stream for players, one that doesn’t rely on league or advertising revenue.Steven Nelkovski, the Chief Executive Officer of the Perth Heat Baseball Club, estimates it could eventually add as much as 5% to a player’s earnings.
“The sats4stats, in a very short space of time, is giving players a greater understanding of how Bitcoin and athletes globally can work,” Nelkovski told ESPN.
“You look at the minor leagues a couple of years ago, they would pass a hat around the stands if there was a home run scored, giving the players a chance to be boosted for performance.That has been taken away now, due to COVID, no longer are you allowed to pass a hat around a ballpark.
“This is bringing fans directly in play and engaging with players and giving them the opportunity to participate or not.
And the results we have seen over a two-week period have been very encouraging.”
“We are certainly seeing the future of sport and the connection and fan engagement long term having a very strong connection to Bitcoin.The sats4stats is what we feel will be the greatest disruption to player and athlete payments for the last century.
“This is not about launching something that is going to put millions of dollars into minor league players’ hands, its about providing them with the opportunity to unlock their potential and their value.
“What probably seems a little foreign to the outsider now, this will be common play in years to come.Just like the internet was foreign to people back in the early part of this century, rewarding players and boosting their performance will be common play in future decades.”
Having their salaries paid in Bitcoin is not mandatory, but something the club hopes will be adopted more as players are educated about the benefits.
“Effectively Bitcoin is the default payment system for players, but they have the option to still take payment in dollars.
We need to be mindful of the environment that we are in, that you can’t really operate on a full Bitcoin Standard in any part of the world at the moment,” Nelkovski said.
“We understand that players have to be paid, they need to pay bills, etc, etc, so that is the default payment and they have the option of what percentage they want to take out in Bitcoin and continue to be educated on what we are launching.
“All contracts at the moment are still denominated in AUD, it’s not like we are sitting down and negotiating contracts out to the denomination of Bitcoin.
“There is probably no risk involved and it is really important that we protect the interests of our players and provide them with the right education.
“Giving them the education as to the difference between Bitcoin and crypto currencies.It’s not an easy topic to get your head around.It’s certainly a process and we don’t expect every player to be completely on board 100% with the changes we are making as a business, it takes time, you have got to allow each individual the opportunity to work through, to continue to invest the time and understanding and do what is comfortable to them.
“We have a very educated group of players, who are respectful and understanding, but we need to make sure we move with the speed of the players, that is paramount.”
For the Heat themselves, one of the key benefits of switching to a Bitcoin Standard is the alleviation of bank transaction fees.On every sale or financial interaction the banks currently take their cut.It adds up over time to be a substantial amount.
The short term volatility of the currency is something that is part of the long term education.The recent FTX collapse concerning crypto currencies, has dragged Bitcoin down with it, at least for the time being.
“We are very clear on our path.There was a reason why we went Bitcoin only and recent troubles in the crypto space highlight why we went with that strategy,” Nelkovski concludes.
“This is the most advanced adoption of Bitcoin by any sports team anywhere in the world.”.