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The PGA Tour is the latest storied sports league to enter the NFT space, today announcing a long-term pact with NFT startup Autograph—which was co-founded by NFL icon Tom Brady—to create officially-licensed digital golf collectibles.
Autograph plans to launch its PGA Tour NFTs in early 2023, tapping into the league’s decades-long trove of assets including video footage, data, and imagery from both current events and past competitions. Autograph’s announcement also points to rewards for PGA Tour fans, as well as exclusive access to both digital and real-world events.
Patrick Cassidy, Autograph’s Chief Marketing Officer, told Decrypt that the partners are still finalizing the look and feel of the NFTs. But while the use of video footage might suggest an NBA Top Shot-like approach to digital collectibles, he said to expect something that’s unique from other sports offerings in the space.
“Everything we're doing—we're trying to build something new in the space,” he said. “We really feel like Autograph has an opportunity to pioneer a lot of these things. We're not trying to do what anybody else has done already.”
Golf legend Tiger Woods—already a member of Autograph’s Board of Advisors—will have a hand in shaping the PGA Tour’s NFT product. Woods has also previously released his own NFT collectibles through the company.
“We're going to lean on [Woods] in so many ways,” said Cassidy, “for how we can build and make the best product in the world around the best athletes in the world, and one of the most premier sports brands in the universe.”
An NFT is a blockchain token that works as a proof of ownership for an item. Digital goods like sports collectibles, profile pictures, and artwork are popular examples in a market that yielded $25 billion worth of trading volume in 2021 alone.
Autograph was announced in April 2021 and rolled out its first NFTs late last summer, with athlete-centric offerings from the likes of Brady, Woods, Simone Biles, Derek Jeter, and Wayne Gretzky—the last three of which are also on the company’s Board of Advisors.
The company initially launched its NFTs through an exclusive partnership with the DraftKings Marketplace, but that exclusivity period has now ended, Cassidy confirmed.
Autograph recently launched its first NFT product through its own website—a Tom Brady “season ticket” pass that unlocks access to a private fan club with perks like events, exclusive merchandise, and more. Each of the 2,500 total NFTs sells for $750, and it’s the first “Signature Experience” drop from the startup.
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