Luka Garza sets auction for non-fungible token

After a record breaking career as an Iowa Hawkeye, Luka Garza is capitalizing on that success by auctioning off a 1 of 1 non-fungible token (NFT) this evening at 6:00p EDT on OpenSea after announcing it on CNBC this afternoon. A portion of the sale will go to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

NFT’s represent a new economy which seeks to create unique digital assets. Most notably, NBA TopShot sells digital highlights which are “minted” so there is discrete number available. Backed by blockchain technology, any future transaction is logged to validate its authenticity.

In addition to being the unique digital highlight, what sets Garza’s apart are events available, presumably, to the initial buyer. They include:

• game-worn, autographed, shoes from day he broke Iowa’s scoring record
• game of HORSE, dinner/movie with Garza, and meditation session
• lifetime VIP access for future Luka Garza basketball camps

LG capitalizing on his name, image, and likeness closes the door on him continuing his career at Iowa (though it was silly to entertain the possibility of his theoretical return) as it represents a player capitalizing on his market value in an increasingly mainstream way. It comes amidst Garza’s run of winning six of the six announced player of the year awards with a seventh to be announced later tonight.

I’m still confused by the concept but the simplest way really is to think of them as digital trading cards which won’t lose their value because you put them in your pocket or left them outside.

Best of luck to Luka in his future endeavors. As this shows, it’s going to be more than just sports.