The NFT marketplace is continuing to blossom, as NFT artists and brands make more and more impact in the robust and fast-growing industry, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is making a mark with his NFT startup ‘Autograph’.
Autograph launched back in August 2021 and has since inked a multi-year deal to produce NFTs with ESPN. Autograph has also collaborated with DraftKings to allow customers to purchase NFTs using credit cards as opposed to cryptocurrency, and offer relatively affordable prices compared to the market.
“We’re going to create the most unique NFT experience in the world,” Brady said of the company.
Autograph is centered on celebrity non-fungible tokens, and includes names such as Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Paris Hilton, Quentin Tarantino, Lindsey Lohan, and more.
Autograph’s co-founder and CEO Dillon Rosenblatt says the company is selective about whom they work with” he said, according to Fast Company. “We want talent (to) work on a bespoke basis, more as partners than a platform.”
“He (Brady) set the precedent: If you’re going to join this family and ecosystem, be yourself, be cool.”
“We say no to a lot more people than we say yes to, both on the individual and IP perspective,” he said.
“Sports fans are interested in collectibles, and investing in a collectible that’s purely digital is not hard for them to grasp,” Yash Patel, a general partner at Telstra Ventures said, according to Fast Company. “Most celebrities really understand the value of collectibles, because they are collectibles themselves.
The vision for Autograph was dreamed up in 23-year old Dillon Rosenblatt’s bedroom, courtesy of his middle school football and basketball card collection, and a dash of old-fashioned nepotism. Rosenblatt’s “affinity for collecting” resurged during the pandemic, and coupled with his interest in web 3.0, sports NFTs felt like an obvious next step. “I got really excited about the potential of digital assets,” he says on our Zoom call, adjusting the black baseball cap he’s paired with an oversized black hoodie. “It’s very easy to understand that I collect sports cards in the physical world. Now those are digital.”
It will be interesting to see how the company grows, and what marketing it will lean on, aside from NFT SEO, as it continues to scale.
