10 Current & Former Pro Athletes Who Are Diving Into Web3
Being “just an athlete” doesn’t cut it anymore.
In the past, most professional athletes were encouraged to be singular-focused on playing their sport.
Business was considered an afterthought.
Investing and money management were left to advisors.
Exploring technology wasn’t even in the realm of possibility.
Now, the tables have turned.
Athletes are major players (no pun intended) at the intersection of all three.
And as we venture into web3, it will only drive the conversation further as to what is possible.
We’re already starting to see many athletes create, build and invest in this next wave of innovation.
Here are 10 current and former pro athletes who are diving into the web3 space right now:
Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie is the co-founder of Calaxy, the world’s first social media application designed by creators for creators.
Along with his co-founder, Solo Ceesay, they’re setting a new industry standard for how creators & fans can engage within a more interactive & equitable framework.
The platform allows each creator to mint their own cryptocurrencies that their fans can buy to interact with their economy or trade value for a social media engagement.
Steph Curry
In August 2021, NBA superstar Steph Curry purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for about 55 ETH, which was valued at roughly $180,000 USD at the time.
In 2021, he also released his 2974 Collection which commemorates him breaking the all-time 3-point record last year. There was one NFT for each 3-pointer, from his first to the record-setter.
All NFTs sold out within minutes and the proceeds went to charity.
Through his public wallet, you can see all of the NFTs he owns.
Tom Brady
Brady is the co-founder of Autograph, an NFT platform that brings together the most iconic brands and legendary names in sports, entertainment, and culture to create unique digital collections and experiences for users around the world.
They have formed partnerships with The PGA Tour and also released a season ticket NFT called The Huddle, which is an exclusive membership pass that features digital collectibles, live broadcasts, custom merch, and private, in-person events — including an end-of-season party in Tampa featuring the GOAT himself.
Sheldon Day
Sheldon Day is currently a free agent but along with his former college teammate Amir Carlisle, founded The Players Company.
The Players Company is a DAO community of pro athletes & crypto natives building products & systems to enable wealth generation across our communities in web3.
Underneath The Players Company is their community LearnDAO, a community-owned wealth-building platform where everyone’s voice matters.
Both entities are governed by members, meaning joining makes you an owner.
Duncan Robinson
This past February, Miami Heat shooting guard/small forward Duncan Robinson announced the launch of ($DBO), his own personal cryptocurrency on Rally, making him the first NBA player with his own live-trading cryptocurrency.
Fans who hold the $DBO token will have exclusive access to a host of benefits including limited edition merch, private in-person events, secret episodes of The Long Shot podcast, and all-access passes to private channels on Robinson’s Discord server.
Dez Bryant
Dez Bryant founded Personal Corner in 2016 to provide solutions for athletes and influencers to build their personal brands in both the physical and digital space.
Bryant is an avid gamer and built Personal Corner to assist both athletes and influencers in crossing their personal brands over to the digital realms, and he believes dynamic NFTs are the perfect tool to accomplish this goal.
In February of 2021, they launched the Personal Corner’s Athlete Series 1 non-fungible token collection which featured athletes such as:
- Future Hall of Fame linebacker Von Miller of the Buffalo Bills
- Dallas Cowboys All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs
- Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby
- Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown
- New England Patriots Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon
Andrew Hawkins
Andrew Hawkins played nine seasons in the NFL and initially transitioned into media was his career was over.
Currently, he is the co-founder of StatusPro, a sports technology company that combines data with augmented and virtual reality to provide a suite of training and gaming products that revolutionize the way coaches, players, and fans experience their favorite sport.
They recently partnered with the NFL and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to release their first game Pro Era on Oculus.
NFL PRO ERA is the first fully licensed NFL virtual reality (VR) simulation game that lets players experience what it’s like to compete as the QB of their favorite NFL team.
Michael & Jeffrey Jordan
In 2021, Michael Jordan launched Heir Inc., a holding company that plans to build a consumer-facing community platform for athletes to connect with fans — as well as other lines of business, including an entertainment studio and consumer products.
The company was co-founded by his son Jeffrey Jordan (above left) along with marketing exec Daniel George (above middle), founder of agency Limitless Creative, and Jeron Smith (above right), former CEO/co-founder of Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media.
Their first tech product, called “Heir” (heir.app), is envisioned as a Web3 personalized community platform for athletes.
Micah Johnson
Micah Johnson has gone from MLB player to artist and NFT extraordinaire with the release of his NFT collection Aku Dreams.
Aku is a character created by Micah, after hearing a young boy ask, “Can astronauts be black?”
Since the release of the project in February 2021, Johnson’s artwork has amassed a passionate fanbase, generating over $10 million USD in sales and leading him to acquire the first NFT film and TV deal in history.
Matt Leinart, Caleb Williams & Greig Carlson
Former USC star QB, Matt Leinart along with current USC QB, Caleb Williams and co-founder Greig Carlson are revolutionizing the NIL space with Hall of Goats.
Hall of Goats is an NFT platform that gives high school and college athletes the opportunity to drop exclusive NFT collections and take advantage of their NIL rights while providing personal brand, content, and digital resources.
The long-term goal is to create an arcade-style game that allows collectors to purchase player NFTs and use them in-game.
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