Sorare.com | Solving Sustainability !
Last week, I wrote about the Low cost & High ROI in Sorare (Link) while this week I'm addressing the elephant in the room which remains the sustainability of the Cap240 Threshold Payouts...
Problematic Sorare Sustainability!
Sorare rewards at this point in time are kind of a ticking time bomb. A fixed 5$-50$-200$ reward is paid out to players that reach the cap240 Threshold each week which is paid for by part of the monet that comes in from Auctions and Trading Fees. However, cards are also given as rewards which has put a lot of pressure on their prices as they kept going down. This to the point where getting in and earning back the initial investment can potentially done within months. Sorare is getting less money from their Auctions which makes it so that they will run out of money at some point at current pace also because the Thresholds are not that crazy hard to hit.
In one of the previous weeks when all football leagues were ongoing, 3791 Players (out of 14500 entries) managed to reach the Rare Threshold which means close to 200k Dollard to be paid out the them not even counting the Limited, Super Rare & Other payouts. As more players come into the game, the load will increase even more as older players remain usable during the entire career of the players as long as they play in a league that is supported. So yeah, everyone knows that something needs to happen probably sooner than later. They also can't just scrap the Threshold rewards as that would push down card prices & their earnings down a lot more.
Sorare Sustainability Solutions!
Multiple things can be done and the situation in fact is very similar to Splinterlands in the past.
1. Increase Threshold to 300:
Right now the threshold is 280 which honestly is a bit too low since players have 240 points to use and they get bonus % based on their Card Levels and there are always lower average score players that can be included in the team who are expected to do well. With a modest team, I managed to reach the threshold 11 times out of 20 so far this season (see below). While it likely would push some players away, at the same time needing a higher score would also incentivize players to hold bigger collections. The 20-point difference in the example week would make a difference of 66k Dollars which likely wouldn't even be enough to really make it sustainable.
2. Introduce a Collection Score:
This was done by Splinterlands in the past to handle ROI Grinders. In Sorare, you now just need 5 cards at least to enter in the cap240 which for the limiteds can be done for as little as 20$ with a fair chance to win the 5$ which would already pay back 25% of the investment. Something they could do is to require at least a minimum of owned assets to enter the cap240 League. This can be done with various metrics in number of cards held, auctions bought, trades made in order for players needing to be active on the market generating some income for Sorare in order to be able to earn.
Something else that can be done is to limit rewards that can be earned based on the collection score so for lower budget players it gives a way to ease into it with the ability to grow.
3. Card Burning: One of the main issues also is that there is no such thing as a card-burning mechanism at the moment. An idea could be to increase the Trading fees with 1% and on a daily or weekly basis use those in some kind of lottery which can be entered by burning cards. This at least would get the supply down even though mostly it would all be useless cards that would get burned.
4. Create Sorare Governance Token: This is what made Splinterlands Explode in 2021 and it could perfectly be duplicated in a better way. If there was a 1-year or even more daily airdrop snapshot for part of the token supply, it would give a reason for players to hold cards pushing their prices up a lot and generating more revenue. Over time, staking the governance token would be one of the requirements in order to enter tournaments with an option for passive investors to delegate and rent theirs out to active players who aren't capable to make the full investment. The problem here is that Sorare is a company with investors who likely would not want to see this. However, when done properly it could create a huge pump in the entire ecosystem but it would again over time potentially cause a crash as it's mostly a temporary quick fix.
Regardless of what it will be, I am expecting something to change in the coming months somewhere as the current way of going about things is just never sustainable.
Rare Cap 240 Team:
Nothing changed to my team last week but it will be a challenge to make a cap240 lineup as none of my 6 strikers are sure starters. I'm pushing the update of my collection to next week.
Owned Rare Cards & Values
(last Price update 28/12/2023)
| Position | Team | Player | Age | Buy Price | Price Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Cercle | Warleson | 26 | 200.84€ | ~280€ |
| Goalkeeper | Antwerp | De Wolf | 26 | 38.43€ | ~50€ |
| Goalkeeper | Cercle | Delanghe | 22 | 46.69€ | ~47€ |
| Defender | AA Gent | Watanabe | 26 | 86.19€ | ~65€ |
| Defender | Cercle Brugge | Decostere | 25 | 10.29€ | ~5€ |
| Defender | AA Gent | Nurnio Fortuna | 28 | 18.86€ | ~12€ |
| Defender | Westerlo | Reynolds | 22 | 51.00€ | ~40€ |
| Defender | Club Brugge | Meijer | 20 | 40.97€ | ~50€ |
| Midfielder | Anderlecht | Ashimeru | 25 | 47.67€ | ~20€ |
| Midfielder | Brighton | Alzate | 24 | 65.66€ | ~110€ |
| Midfieler | OH Leuven | Maertens | 28 | 99.06€ | ~12€ |
| Midfielder | Kv Mechelen | Konaté | 29 | 27.76€ | ~14€ |
| Midfielder | AA Gent | Samoise | 21 | 62.22€ | ~70€ |
| Midfielder | Westerlo | Matuso | 26 | 19.09€ | ~15€ |
| Midfielder | Charleroi | Heymans | 24 | 4.63€ | ~10€ |
| Attacker | Southampton | Onuachu | 29 | 132.44€ | ~100€ |
| Attacker | Standard | Noah Ohio | 20 | 47.12€ | ~35€ |
| Attacker | Westerlo | Frigan | 20 | 62.07€ | ~70€ |
| Attacker | Club Brugge | Jutgla | 24 | 88.68€ | ~60€ |
| Attacker | Genk | Fadera | 22 | 57.32€ | ~100€ |
| Attacker | Anderlecht | Vasquez | 22 | 38.81€ | ~70€ |
Week x Rare Cap 240 Result
No Football last week so no changes here
| Game Week | Points | Rank | Entries | Needed | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 20 | 320.11 | 256th | 6150 | 280 | +40.11 |
| Week 19 | 325.10 | 730th | 10401 | 280 | +45.10 |
| Week 18 | 308.85 | 2007th | 14499 | 280 | +28.85 |
| Week 17 | 266.74 | 5145th | 15274 | 280 | -13.26 |
| Week 16 | 242.19 | 7936th | 16209 | 280 | -37.81 |
| Week 15 | 294.04 | 3694th | 16249 | 280 | +14.04 |
| Week 14 | 308.25 | 2437th | 16347 | 280 | +28.25 |
| Week 13 | 269.66 | 4400th | 16090 | 280 | -10.34 |
| Week 12 | 232.28 | 8741st | 16462 | 280 | -47.72 |
| Week 11 | 287.95 | 3781st | 16743 | 280 | +7.95 |
| Week 10 | 359.38 | 542nd | 16364 | 280 | +79.38 |
| Week 09 | 316.67 | 2033rd | 16757 | 280 | +36.67 |
| Week 08 | 334.83 | 1020th | 16824 | 280 | +54.83 |
| Week 07 | 218.20 | 7983rd | 16961 | 250 | -31.80 |
| Week 06 | 216.90 | 7500th | 16649 | 250 | -33.10 |
| Week 05 | 213.10 | 8217th | 16343 | 250 | -36.90 |
| Week 04 | 316.20 | 551th | 15993 | 250 | +66.20 |
| Week 03 | 177.80 | 8542nd | 13880 | 250 | -72.20 |
| Week 02 | 209.40 | 3834th | 10385 | 250 | -40.60 |
| Week 01 | 273.00 | 783rd | 8050 | 250 | +23.00 |
Rare Cap 240 Dollar ETH Rewards 2023-2024
| Prize | Times Won | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 45.5€ | 11x | 500€ |
Rare Player Trades 2023-2024
| Position | Team | Player | Buy Price | Sell Price | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midfielder | Lech Poznan | Hotic | 20.19€ | 83.95€ | +63.76€ |
| Attacker | Eupen | Prevljak | 56.15€ | 92.05€ | +35.90€ |
| Attacker | Stvv | Koita | 32.63€ | 133€ | +100.37€ |
| Goalkeeper | Suwon | An Chan-Gi | 0€ | 14.8€ | +14.80€ |
| Defender | Mechelen | Bates | 5.10€ | 19.10€ | +14.00€ |
Total Rare Card Investment: 517€
Total Rare Card Value:1235€ **
(** Expected Sell Price After Fees)
Week 21 Rare Cap 240 Team
I'm not 100% sure that Alzate will play but from what I saw last he is back in Standard. Jutgla at best will come in after minute 70 but at worst will stay on the bench so it will be a big challenge to reach the threshold.
Limited Teams & Results
Also nothing changed for my limited team.
| Game Week | League | Points | Rank | Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 20 | Under 23 | 311.79 | 246th | 2587 | Tier 5 Card |
| Week 20 | Cap240 | 326.20 | 424th | 11625 | 5$ |
| Week 19 | Challenger Europe | 329.31 | 307th | 3736 | Tier 4 Card |
| Week 19 | Under 23 | 299.64 | 544th | 3378 | Tier 5 Card |
| Week 19 | Cap 240 | 290.60 | 2702nd | 16850 | 5$ |
| Week 18 | Cap240 | 341.09 | 1665th | 27180 | 5$ |
| Week 18x | Cap240 | 284.27 | 2455th | 18183 | 5$ |
| Week 17 | Cap240 | 328.96 | 2304th | 30354 | 5$ |
| Week 16 | Cap240 | 356.79 | 1088th | 31266 | 5$ + Tier 4 Card |
| Week 14 | Cap240 | 300.52 | 6296th | 31768 | 5$ |
| Week 13 | Cap240 | 287.48 | 6750th | 32024 | 5$ |
| Week 10 | Cap240 | 308.07 | 5916th | 33023 | 5$ |
| Week 09 | Cap240 | 320.89 | 4121th | 33476 | 5$ |
| Week 08 | Cap 220 | 362.66 | 310th | 22502 | Tier 4 Card |
| Week 07 | Under 23 | 327.99 | 826th | 9794 | Tier 5 Card |
| Week 06 | Cap 240 | 263.3 | 8701st | 33513 | 5$ |
| Week 05 | Cap 240 | 263.3 | 7839th | 32749 | 5$ |
| Week 05x | Cap 240 | 262.89 | 1150th | 1387 | 5$ |
| Week 04 | Challenger Europe | 360.80 | 535th | 9920 | Tier 4 Card |
| Week 04 | Cap 240 | 298.00 | 2799th | 31672 | 5$ |
| Week 03 | Challenger Europe | 403.78 | 235th | 9334 | Tier 3 Card |
| Week 03 | Cap 240 | 302.39 | 1924th | 27434 | 5$ |
| Week 02 | Cap 240 | 261.5 | 3693rd | 20454 | 5$ |
| Week 01 | Cap 240 | 320.20 | 440th | 16746 | 5$ + Tier 4 Card |
Player Transfers & Reward Card
I continue to keep an eye out but I didn't do any buys last week.
Week 21 Limited Teams
I made a mix of Antwerp/Club Brugge players this week and Nusa should do well in the coming weeks as it looks like is he now a Starter. Meijer also is and he has a low average score but improving.
Season 2023-2024 Owned Limited Cards & Values
Tracking all my limited cards here has become way too time-intensive so I'll be using stats from sorarebase. It looks like there is a delay as there is now 0.72 ETH in my account.
Cap 240 Dollar ETH Rewards 2023-2024
| Prize | Times Won | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 4.56€ | 17x | 77.52€ |
Conclusion
I'm still having a ton of fun with Sorare and the season still has a long way to go. I'm really looking forward to another weekend to come. If any football fan is looking to join the journey, feel free to sign up with my link to receive a free limited card when building your first team!
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Crypto & Blockchain-Based Bookies and Exchanges that I'm personally using with some allowing anonymous betting with no KYC or personal restrictions...
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One question crossed my mind: what happens with the cards with players that are retiring or simply not playing anymore. Do those cards become useless?
They 'solved' this problem by introducing collections. basically, the more players you own from a specific team in a certain year, the higher your collection bonus % will be for that team up to 5%. It gives a reason to buy cards of players that no longer are active.
In the end though they will turn worthless which is part of the game I would say. It's already hard to allow players to have a use case in the game their entire career potentially. It's also the reason why older players are cheaper and younger promising players are often more expensive as their lifetime is longer.