How NFTs Are Changing The Game For Professional Athletes – Forbes
An illustration picture taken in London on December 30, 2021, shows a PsychoKitty NFT (Non-Fungible … [+] Token) created by psychedelic artist Ugonzo displayed on a phone and a NFT logo displayed on a computer screen from a Crypto.com NFT marketplace. – Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are cryptographic assets stored on a blockchain with unique identification metadata that distinguish them from each other. – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION – TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION – TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION – TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Professional athletes represent the most physically and mentally gifted individuals of the human race. And because of their unique superpowers, their name, image, and likeness are often a hot commodity among consumers.
Unfortunately, for a long time, athletes have been unable to fully cash in on their personal value.
Take, for instance, a Mickey Mantle baseball card. For those unaware, Mantle was a famous outfielder and first baseman who spent the entirety of his eighteen-year career with the sport’s most storied franchise, the New York Yankees. In that time, he won three American League Most Valuable Player awards, a triple crown, and helped lead the Bronx Bombers to a whopping seven World Series titles. It would make sense that Mantle and his estate would be able to monetize every iota of his Hall of Fame career.
Well, that was not the case in August 2022, when Heritage Auctions sold a Mickey Mantle baseball card for 12.6 million U.S. dollars, making it the most expensive sports trading card sold at auction to date.
How much of this 12.6 million did Mantle and his estate collect? Not a penny. That’s right. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.
Despite all the blood, sweat, and tears Mantle gave to the game of baseball, he and his descendant
