ESPN Partners with Autograph to Release Tom Brady’s NFTs
Tom Brady and ESPN announced a new partnership to bring the Bradys NFTs to the fans. ESPN intends to sell digital collectibles representing Brady’s sporting career. This is one of the many times the sporting world has tasted NFT and the metaverse.
ESPN Introduces Tom Brady NFTs
Earlier on Thursday, ESPN announced the introduction of its first-ever NFT deal done in collaboration with Tom Brady’s project called Autograph. ESPN is one of the largest media stations focused specifically on the sports world. At the same time, Autograph is a Web3 network cofounded by Tom Brady to focus on bringing NFTs in collaboration with sports and entertainment legends.
ESPN announced their first-ever NFT deal with Autograph. According to the VP of sports business development and Innovation at ESPN, Kevin Lopes, “ESPN is excited to offer our first NFTs to meet our fans at the intersection of sports, technology and content.”
ESPN’s plan with this deal is to release NFTs of the super bowling legend Tom Brady his sports career, wins, and achievements. ESPN intends to sell a new idea to sports fans, owning digital assets representing Brady’s career.
The first NFT collection comes with 3 ESPN digital magazine covers showing the sportsman’s career moments. Another second collection, named ‘Back in the Arena’, will drop later when the 10th episode of the 10 part ESPN docuseries is aired. The docuseries major on the Autograph of the legendary player.
Other reports also indicate that the Superbowl legend will sign around 50 of the NFTs. According to reports, the first batch of these NFTs will be selling from today in the DraftKings marketplace.
NFTs in the Sporting World
Brady has a long career, having retired in early February but later announcing his return for a 23rd season. Normally, his fans and his team’s fans would buy collectibles, and some would enjoy an actual autograph. However, with these new digital collectibles, it’s good to wait to see if people invest in these items as they do when it comes to other sports tangible assets.
NFTs have been gaining adoption in the sporting world recently. Autograph already has digital collectibles of popular sports persons like Tom Brady, Tony Hawk, Usain Bolt, Derek Jeter, etc.
Autograph noted that the partnership with ESPN is just the start of their long-term relationship. The CEO and Cofounder of Autograph said, “This unique collection around Tom’s Man in the Arena docuseries marks the beginning of our relationship with ESPN.”
There have been other cases of sportsmen going into the NFT world. Ashley Cole and John Terry are the most recent examples of the same. PSG, Man City, and other top sports teams have also made NFT and metaverse plans.
Disney to Expand Bradys Docuseries Availability
Disney, the network airing Tom Brady’s Man in the Arena Docuseries, is already increasing the availability of the project. The network has added this Docuseries to other streaming services, including Hulu and the Disney Plus library. This move by Disney could contribute to more adoption of the Brady NFTs.
