NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty announced that they would be the first team in WNBA history to drop non-fungible tokens in the form of digital art.
The release of the NFT will be on May 7 to coincide with the Liberty's season opener against the Connecticut Sun.
“I think we’re always aiming to be innovative. We like to lead and feel we should be leading here in New York," Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said after practice earlier this week. "We have the support of ownership and a really unique idea to continue what our schedule release was.”
There will be 400 NFTs with similar designs, but each having its own unique serial number when they are released. The Liberty hope to do more of them throughout the season.
“This is the first in the collection, not sure what the rest will look like yet," Clarke said. "There will be some surprises that come from this drop. The NFTs are serialized, you could be gifted on the number of the NFT you purchase.”
Fans can get one of the the NFTs by pre-ordering a ticket to the opening game through a special website.
The design was created by the Liberty's in-house marketing team and plays off the nail art that was teased in the franchise's schedule release.
“NFTs are the future of one-of-a-kind collectibles, and this exclusive drop celebrates the intersection of nail art culture and sports through the lens of the New York Liberty. A lot of our players get their nails done,” Clarke said. “We saw Betnijah (Laney) had her nails done in New York Liberty colors.”
The WNBA offered its first NFT's last fall and the packs the league made available all sold out.
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