Will Shanklin
Future NFL Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady is launching a non-fungible token platform, with Apple's Eddy Cue landing on the company's advisory team.
Set to launch in the spring of 2021, Autograph is the quarterback's non-fungible token (NFT) platform. Brady will be teaming up with other big names in sports, entertainment, fashion, and pop culture to develop NFT digital collectibles.
That list reportedly includes Eddy Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services. A self-proclaimed sports fan, Cue has appeared on the sidelines at Golden State Warriors home playoff games, cheering on his Bay Area team or giving the refs an earful.
Cue isn't yet listed as a board member or adviser on Autograph's website, but CNN reports that he is part of the high-profile team.
Other notable advisors include DraftKings co-founders Jason Robins and Paul Liberman, Spotify chief content and advertising business Officer Dawn Ostroff, and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer.
The company will offer unique digital collectibles, including some featuring Brady.
"Autograph will bring together some of the world's most iconic names and brands with best in class digital artists to ideate, create and launch NFTs and ground-breaking experiences to a community of fans and collectors," said Dillon Rosenblatt, Autograph's co-founder and CEO.
NFTs have exploded in popularity during recent months. The blockchain-linked collectible art includes cryptographic tokens denoting ownership. An NFT's value can change over time, and in theory, become more valuable. Artists can also track sales in a digital ledger, potentially allowing them to collect a portion of future resales.
While some critics have labeled them as nothing more than a bubble or rich-getting-richer scheme, that hasn't slowed the NFT craze. In March, an NFT lot from artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as "Beeple," fetched $69.3 million at Christie's auction house. Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey later sold an NFT of the first-ever tweet for more than $2.9 million.
Cue has decades of experience navigating the crossroads of tech and entertainment. He was instrumental in negotiating favorable record deals for the early days of iTunes. His aggressive and savvy approach in those and other negotiations helped pave the road for Apple's present-day success.
Cue hasn't commented publicly on his involvement with Brady's Autograph.
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8 Comments
Are their eyeballs really that mis-aligned? Or someone f*****g with the images?
Geez, you want to buy some swamp land? Or better yet, how's about a bridge...
Most things digital I'm okay with, but definitely not this. I have to touch/feel/see things of this nature. Samething with MLB trading cards, I don't want to look at them on a screen except for reference. On another note, wish I kept my Beatles trading cards...
Pet rocks are more valuable.
These are so stupid. They’re not much different from “buying” a star — everyone else can still see it, but this record in a database says it’s yours!
He should be busy fixing Apple issues!