The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for the distribution of license entitlement keys utilizing a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver. An SFP transceiver may be utilized in connection with a communication device that transmits data according to a variety of communication protocols. In various embodiments, the license entitlement keys may be generated using an SFP configuration value stored in machine-readable storage medium in the SFP transceiver. The SFP configuration value may be an input, together with other values associated with the SFP transceiver and a secret key in order to generate a license entitlement key. The secret key may be stored in the communication device, and may be stored in such a manner so to not be externally readable. In certain embodiments, configuration settings may be tied to the license entitlement key.