Man in the Arena: Tom Brady
It will begin with a documentary and the sale of a public NFT collection of autographs. Then, a 10-part ESPN+ documentary series named “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady” covers the events of Brady’s life from a psychological and emotional standpoint, charting his career as an NFL icon. As a co-founder, Brady is involved in a media company called Religion of Sports, producing the show.
Sports memorabilia from the National Football League’s “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady Collection” has been created by Autograph and Religion of Sports exclusively for ESPN. The documentary and the NFT collection will be available on Autograph.io and the DraftKings Marketplace at the exact moment on Wednesday for Disney streaming bundle subscribers – ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+.
The collection includes three magazine covers from ESPN’s special edition December issue, which had 14 articles about Tom Brady written by ESPN writers. Those who buy the NFT covers will get Brady’s signature on 50 of them. As the last episode of the NFT docuseries airs, a second collection, “Back in the Arena,” will be released.
This is a massive opportunity for us as the first NFT partner for ESPN. We couldn’t be more excited to get this information out to the public in such a significant way,” said Autograph co-founder and CEO Dillon Rosenblatt.
People have Expressed Concerns Over the ESPN Partnership.
Despite the enthusiasm of die-hard Tom Brady fans for his new show and NFT collection, several Twitter users have expressed their concerns about the relationship after ESPN announced the partnership. Disapproving remarks included: “Nobody requested this, ESPN” and “I still don’t know what an NFT is.” GIFs were also used to show their disdain.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the ESPN Edge Innovation Center would be created in partnership with Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution to search for new technology partnerships such as this one with Autograph. In addition to Web3 experiences, ESPN plans to leverage augmented and virtual reality to engage with sports fans in new and exciting ways.
NFT ventures like NBA Top Shot and bitcoin firms renaming sports stadiums have been extensively embraced by the sports industry, from Formula One sponsorships to popular NFT trading cards like NBA Top Shot and cryptocurrency corporations. Earlier this year, PwC referred to NFTs as “the future of digital assets in sports” in a report.
Tom Brady is a big fan of Vitalik Buterin.
Twitter users speculated that Ethereum co-founder and CEO Vitalik Buterin and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady might be friends after the magazine’s latest cover featured Buterin.
The slogan “Greatest Of All Time” often describes Brady, the only NFL player to win seven championships. However, Brady used the phrase to describe Buterin as well. He said that history would remember Buterin as one of its “Greatest Of All Time” figures. According to Brady, the Autograph project “would not have been possible” without Buterin’s help. A $170 million financing round was announced by Autograph, which is expected to close soon. Business officials said in a statement at the time to expand their user base and further develop their NFT technology.
The cover story by Buterin is included in Time magazine’s first-ever whole issue published as an NFT on the blockchain. According to the publisher, the decentralized version of the magazine will be available on Wednesday. In addition, digital subscriptions may now be purchased using cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (Dogecoin), and other digital currencies. On Sunday, TIMEPieces, TIMEPieces’ NFT subsidiary, announced that ApeCoin (APE), the token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s governance and usefulness, would be added to the list of approved cryptocurrencies.
