Frequently Asked Questions about the official NFT Digital Collectibles Marketplace of the NHL, NHLPA and NHLAA

NHL Breakaway is the Official NFT Digital Collectibles Marketplace of the NHL, NHLPA and NHLAA. Digital Collectibles offered will include current and historical video highlights and collectibles from across the league, featuring past and present NHL stars and top plays.

A digital collectible is similar to a physical collectible, but in digital format. To ensure each digital collectible’s uniqueness, NHL Breakaway uses blockchain technology to demonstrate ownership and authenticity. For more on digital collectibles, read on below check out this article in our Help Center.

While you own the digital collectible, as the owner you are granted for personal use a limited, terminable, non-exclusive, non-transferable (except upon authorized resale of the entire Digital Collectible) license to use and display, with no right to sublicense, a single copy of certain NHL content associated with the owner's digital collectible. This license is subject to applicable law, as it may change from time to time, and any additional restrictions that the NHL, Sweet, or other content owners may impose upon the use of the digital collectible, including any audio-visual content, at the time of sale. See our Terms of Use for more information.

Physical and digital collectibles have many similar traits, such as strong fan affinity and pride of ownership (otherwise known as “bragging rights” as you show off your collections). However, digital collectibles have many advantages over physical collectibles. This helps to explain the transformation of the collectible space over time and the fan interest in digital collectibles.

The advantages that digital collectibles have over physical collectibles include:

A fan can have the same thrill, affinity, and enjoyment from owning a digital collectible as owning a physical one - plus all the conveniences of verifiable authenticity, easy delivery, storage, and sharing.

In addition to owning your digital collectibles and displaying and sharing them as you want–enjoy the bragging rights--there are lots of other benefits. Some teams may offer personalized benefits, such as VIP access to an event or access to unique digital and real world content. These perks are sometimes referred to as "utility". In some cases you may be able to add on-to, customize, or enhance your digital collectible–but you should note that any such changes will be layered enhancements, and will not change the underlying digital collectible.

Every digital collectible from NHL Breakaway is unique, individually-numbered, and trackable on the public blockchain with records of authenticity. It might be unique with only one created, or it might be individually numbered and part of a limited series. Sweet creates each collectible series on the public blockchain, including the total number available. The public blockchain also stores a permanent record of who created it, and every owner.

You can choose how to display your digital collectibles for your own use and enjoyment and how you want to display them to others to view and enjoy. You can show just one collectible or your full collection.

Until further notice during the beta, collectibles are required to stay on the platform as we are continuing to optimize the core fan experience. We will post on the platform when collectibles may be moved off the platform to compatible wallets and approved marketplaces

Digital collectibles by their very nature are intended to be used, displayed, and enjoyed. You own the NFT associated with the content in your digital collectible and can, if you want, give it away, gift it, or sell it for whatever reason. Note, the marketplace feature enabling you to sell your NFT and transfer the license to the content associated with the digital collectibles will be released in a later stage of the beta.

There will be an initial launch of the program in summer of 2023 available to beta users . This will be followed by the full launch during the 2023-2024 to be announced.

The NHL Breakaway beta program allows us to incrementally roll out new features to a smaller audience of fans and collectors, and gain valuable feedback to help optimize the platform before it opens widely to the public. We're excited to hear what you think!

Early phases of the beta will focus on pack drops; later phases will introduce the ability to exchange on NHL Breakaway’s fan marketplace, set completion, quests, and additional fan engagement opportunities.

All digital collectibles sold during the beta are 100% official and authentic, and are considered to be Series 1 of a long-running NHL Breakaway program.

To apply for the beta program, visit NHLBreakaway.com to register your account. Note, registration of your account does not guarantee access to the program.

We are looking for participants from every background, fandom level, and demographic. Most importantly, we want to select fans who will enjoy making NHL Breakaway the premier sports digital collectibles program.

Not at this time. We plan to grow the beta in waves so be sure to sign up for updates or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Discord to ensure you have the latest news on NHL Breakaway.

If you are an existing Sweet user, you can complete your NHL Breakaway account setup by clicking “Log In” in the upper right corner of the site and continuing with your Sweet credentials.

If you are a brand new user, look for an email with the subject “Time to setup your NHL Breakaway account!”

If you cannot find this email, contact us and our Customer Support team will resend the email to the address associated with your beta application.

Digital collectibles may be purchased using credit card or certain cryptocurrency.

The payment processor Moonpay has been implemented on Sweet and NHL Breakaway with the MCC 5815 classification, "Digital Goods Media". This is different from the old Moonpay product on-ramp, MCC 6051. The previous classification had much more intense identity verification, and was more restrictive with bank approvals and country availability. Thus leading to a higher rate of declines.

The "Digital Goods Media" classification being used on NHL Breakaway should address those concerns providing wider support for different regions and also ensure higher bank approval rates.

NHL Breakaway digital collectibles will be minted on the Polygon and Ethereum public blockchains.

No. It is more typical for the owner of the intellectual property rights to license the use of the artwork or media files for use by the NFT owner as part of the NFT. Along with rights information, we also include a copyright notice with our NFTs, and this information along with the terms and conditions is verifiable through the blockchain record. Sweet or our Clients retain the copyright, but the NFT owner is granted certain rights per our Terms of Use. This is similar to purchasing a limited-edition, numbered print of a painting--the original artist retains copyright, while you enjoy the specially produced copy of the art.

When you freeze a highlight, you’re committing that digital highlight to the completion of a defined "set". Once frozen, highlights in your collection can’t be traded, sold, or gifted until the set completion end date (and otherwise can’t be unfrozen).

Freezing also preserves the integrity of the program by helping ensure that each highlight is only used once toward a set completion reward.

No, A digital collectible you freeze will remain in this state and committed to a set completion until the end date of that specific set completion challenge.

Set completion challenges make it easy for you to track your progress towards bragging rights and exclusive rewards. Completing a set requires you to Freeze every highlight within the set before the deadline in order to claim an exclusive reward. Sets may be introduced throughout the season and may have a predefined end date. They may also run for a longer stretch to coincide with exciting action or events. For sets that run longer, highlights necessary to complete may be announced and introduced over the length of the Set period.

Uncirculated Editions are minted highlights that were not distributed prior to the close of the series.

For Series 1, this close date will be ~ September 2024 (prior to the start of the 2024-25 NHL Season).

Since these editions will no longer be sold or distributed, they will be transferred to the 0x0 Ethereum wallet -- so that they can no longer be issued to collectors.

Headquartered in the NYC area, Sweet has been creating memorable digital collectible experiences for sports teams and brands since early 2021. Their clients include the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Australian Open, Clemson Tigers, and McLaren Racing – as well as brands such as Burger King, Macy’s, Kia, and Old Navy.

No! The same credentials you use on Sweet will work at NHL Breakaway.

We have a great FAQ on that here.

Visit our Help Center where you can find more detailed answers and additional information.