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FSU’s Wyatt Wilkes becomes first active NCAA men’s basketball player to sell NFTs

Jordan Kirkland

Florida State University senior guard Wyatt Wilkes has become the first active NCAA men’s basketball player to sell “non-fungible token” (NFT) of digital trading cards using his name and image.

Wilkes, a 6’8 guard and fifth-year senior on the FSU men’s basketball team, announced the collaboration with Draftly which will produce limited-edition trading cards that will become available for purchase beginning Monday, October 4, 2021 at 5:00 PM (ET) via the OpenSea NFT marketplace at the following link. The deal comes as Wilkes, considered by many to be the Seminoles’ best outside shooter, enters training camp for his senior season.

Fans and collectors can acquire and trade Wilkes’ NFTs through OpenSea with Ether using a MetaMask Ethereum wallet. Fans and collectors can either purchase Ether directly from MetaMask using their debit or credit card, or deposit Ether into their MetaMask wallet directly from a crypto exchange.

NFTs, “one-of-a-kind” digital assets that can be bought and sold like physical property, are unique assets and artwork that are represented by code on a decentralized digital ledger called a blockchain. As with crypto-currency, the blockchain allows for the ownership and validity of each to be tracked.

Draftly, which provides NFT solutions for universities and athletes, announced the partnership in a press release on Monday, touting the growing trend of NFTs.

“We are incredibly excited to work with Wyatt on our first NFT drop for a college athlete. NFTs are going to revolutionize the way which college athletes will monetize their NIL in the future, and we are excited to work with both athletes and universities to create a solution that works for all parties involved. Our goal at Draftly is better college athletics for everyone across the country and help strengthen the sports we know and love, said Draftly Founder and CEO Nick DeNuzzo.

Florida’s NIL bill was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2020 and went into effect in July, opening the door for collegiate athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. The bill was sponsored by State Representative Chip LaMarca.