InPlay Global, a market for live sports performance, has announced a strategic partnership with tZERO Group, Inc., a leader in blockchain-based financial infrastructure, to build an equity market for sports performance. The collaboration seeks to create Sports Performance Securities™ – equity instruments whose value is linked to team performance – effectively establishing sports performance as a new investable asset class.
The partnership combines InPlay's market model with tZERO's regulated digital securities infrastructure to bring a new category of market participation to sports fans, investors, traders, and institutions. "Sportsbooks allow users to wager on outcomes. Prediction markets allow users to trade probabilities. Yet no equity market exists for sports performance itself. We're changing that," said Edwin Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of InPlay Global.
Alan Konevsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of tZERO, added: "Tokenization, coupled with the right market structure, transforms real-world rights, interests, and economic activity into investable assets. The most impactful innovations often emerge when entirely new categories become accessible through market infrastructure. Sports performance represents a compelling and largely untapped frontier."
The announcement comes as InPlay prepares to launch the InPlay Trading Challenge™, a free-to-enter national competition aligned with the 2026 professional and college football seasons. Featuring cash prizes and participants from more than 15 universities, the competition is designed to introduce students and sports fans to sports markets, trading concepts, and financial literacy through active participation.
InPlay Global is developing Sports Performance Securities™ – equity instruments whose value is linked to team performance. By combining sports, finance, and technology, InPlay is creating a new form of participation that allows users to analyze, value, and trade team performance through market-based engagement rather than wagering on or predicting discrete outcomes. For more information about InPlay, visit inplayglobal.com.
tZERO Group, Inc. and its broker-dealer subsidiaries provide an innovative liquidity platform for private companies and assets. They offer institutional-grade solutions for issuers looking to digitize their capital table through blockchain technology, and make such equity available for trading on an alternative trading system. For more information about tZERO, visit their website.
This partnership marks a significant step toward democratizing access to sports-related investments, potentially reshaping how fans engage with their favorite teams and creating new opportunities for financial participation in the sports industry.
