OneOf, the biggest NFT platform for music, and Sports Illustrated are coming together to create something special.
OneOf and Sports Illustrated announced the launch of their NFT collection today. Through this collection, OneOf is branching out into sports and lifestyle on the Polygon blockchain.
Sports Illustrated has teamed up with several big name athletes and cover stars, including Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Mia Hamm, Wayne Gretzky, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dick Butkus and Billie Jean King.
The Sports Illustrated cover collections for football stars Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Dick Butkus will launch first after the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. The drops will close with a unique Super Diamond NFT that envisions “The Greatest Play That Never Was” with the three star athletes.
The rest of the collections will drop thereafter within the next few weeks.
“The expansion into sports and lifestyle is a natural evolution to further our mission to bring the next 100 million non-crypto-native fans into web3 through cultural passion points,” Josh James, co-founder and COO of OneOf, said. “This collaboration with Sports Illustrated to mint legendary athletes' NFTs on the energy-efficient Polygon blockchain is the perfect way to launch our Sports and Lifestyle marketplace, and we are excited for the opportunity to engage millions of sports fans worldwide.”
The collection features athletes' Sports Illustrated covers adapted by Jonathan Winbush, an acclaimed 3D animation artist and virtual reality developer. Each collection is focused on 3D animated work that visualizes the moments before the famous photograph presented on each Sports Illustrated cover.
“Thinking about the time I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated brings back many great memories for me," Rice said. "This NFT collection will allow me to connect with my fans in a unique way and it's really exciting to watch how technology and innovation keeps evolving.”
OneOf was created to produce an eco-friendly and sociable experience for creators and fans. They use a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol with Tezos and Polygon, and minting an NFT on OneOf’s platform utilizes about two million times less energy than most other networks.
See also: Industry Leader Talks The Future of NFTs And Digital Art Displays
Photography by: Courtesy Sports Illustrated
