Former Real Madrid and Colombian Soccer Star, James Rodríguez, Launches his “Zurda” NFT Collection on ZKSea

For the over two billion soccer fans around the world, James Rodríguez needs no introduction. He is a soccer legend, adored by many, and his exploits in three continents precede his popularity. 

From successful stints in Real Madrid, Everton, and Bayern Munich, the Colombian superstar has built a large global following, inspiring many. 

James is a sports influencer, and he is now packaging all that he has worked for in decades and releasing a limited edition commemorative NFT collection on ZKSea, an NFT marketplace based on full-featured layer2 protocol ZKSpace.

Details of the James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFTs Collection

The strategic partnership celebrates James’ success in the sport loved by most of the world’s population. This collection condenses what the footballing legend has contributed to the sport and presents a chance for adoring fans to truly own James’ imaging rights in their non-custodial wallets. 

The James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFTs, dubbed Zurda (left foot in Spanish), will mint 1,500 unique NFTs availed through mystery boxes and auctions from June 15th, 2022. Ahead of this highly anticipated mint, ZKSea has released several whitelist campaigns for early birds actively helping develop the growing layer 2 NFT community with relatively low prices and pre-minting benefits.

If history serves well, first mints are usually successful. The success of Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks serves as a prime example. Only 10k unique punks were airdropped for free back in 2017. Fast forward five years later, some NFTs in this collection are worth millions of dollars. 

The same could be replicated with James Rodríguez, especially since it is the first time he is minting key highlights from his illustrious career spanning three continents into NFTs. Besides, this collection comes after an illustrious footballing career for the Colombian national team and several top-tier European football clubs. Interested fans that choose to whitelist or acquire any of the 1,500 NFT pieces could, in the future, rake in big profits if they decide to sell. 

Why Minting on ZKSea?

The decision to also launch on ZKSea is strategic, considering the inherent scaling challenges facing Ethereum. ZKSea is a layer-2 scaling solution on Ethereum targeting the multi-billion NFT industry. It is a platform by L2 Labs Foundation that is behind ZKSpace. 

ZKSpace is leveraging ZK Rollups, an off-chain scaling solution for Ethereum that introduces more privacy while being secure and eliminates the need for trust. This property gives ZK Rollups an edge above Optimistic Rollups. 

ZKSea is one of the three products by ZKSpace. One of the major advantages of ZKSea over competing platforms like ImmutableX revolves around flexibility and security. For instance, buyers of James Rodríguez NFTs wouldn’t be bound to pay transaction fees using a given asset. Instead, at their discretion, they can pay using ETH, USDT, WBTC, or ZKS. ZKS is the native token of the ZKSpace ecosystem. 

All this is done in a highly scalable, flexible environment where the team’s immediate priority is maintaining user privacy.

All requests for token transfer from the ZKSpace ecosystem would be initiated and settled immediately without third parties. Additionally, the minting team can quickly issue James Rodríguez’s NFTs because of the ZKSea’s independent full-suite non-custodial wallet. 

These advantages create a smooth user experience which is massive considering the ever-evolving demands from NFT owners desirous of more in a low-cost, scalable environment.

1,500 NFTs to Capture James’ Illustrious Career in Professional Football

Combining the benefits of ZKSea, including the low trading fees, an easy-to-use user interface, and security, with the fact that James Rodríguez is minting his Zurda NFT collection for the first time, collectors may be in for an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own rare assets. There will only be 1,500 items in this commemorative collection available in four tiers—Platinum (1), Gold (10), Silver (400), and Bronze (1,089)—depending on rarity. 

Tokenized images would include highlights from his time in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the reception of the 2014/15 Liga BBVA Best Midfielder award while playing for Real Madrid, and other memorable times when James was enjoying his football in the Spanish Capital, Everton, and Germany’s Bundesliga Champions, Bayern Munich, where he also won silverware. Specifically, the Platinum NFT will feature the 2014 Puskas Award-winning goal that propelled James’ career.

Besides high-value NFTs, owners of rare pieces would receive signed memorabilia and even a chance for a dedicated video call with the superstar.

The Inevitable Merger of Sport and NFTs

This mint is a continuation of what NBA TopShot set in motion. Onchain details show that millions of dollars of NBA TopShot NFTs have been traded, raking in thousands, if not millions of dollars, in profits for collectors. 

The NBA TopShot NFT collection is a joint venture between the National Basketball Association (NBA) of the U.S. and the Flow blockchain launched in 2020. The collection is minted on the Flow blockchain and comprises officially licensed digital collectibles showcasing “influential” moments in NBA. 

By early June 2022, the NBA TopShot platform had more than 552k million subscribers who traded over $944 million of NFTs, according to DappRadar. The collection’s overwhelming success is because it brings NBA and NFT enthusiasts together, allowing them to trade basketball’s memorable moments in a low-cost, scalable Flow blockchain. Similarly, Sorare, a soccer fantasy game on Ethereum, enables the trading of soccer legends using supported cryptocurrencies or bank cards. 

Both have been an enormous success, bringing together the multi-billion dollar sports industry and an exciting blockchain sub-sector in NFTs whose paths, analysts say, would inevitably converge. 

Bringing Fans Closer and Promoting Technology

The James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition, “Zurda”, NFTs collection solidifies the legend’s fan base and, most importantly, helps promote the sport while highlighting the benefits of NFTs, crypto, and blockchain. By purchasing any of the limited edition NFTs by James, the owner becomes part of an amazing fan community who might even have a chance of having a direct call with the legendary footballing star. It also points to the fast-changing shift in technology and adapting sports teams. Going by trends, it is clear that they are maximizing what crypto and NFTs are bringing to the table while bringing their fans closer.