Two of the hottest acronyms of the last year are NFT (non-fungible token) and NIL (name, image, likeness) and those two worlds are colliding at the University of Oregon.
Oregon is launching an NFT platform called “Ducks of a Feather” and it will kick off with the “Flying Formation” collection, which includes 120 digital art pieces (based on the Oregon Duck mascot) by Nike executive Tinker Hatfield.
This project is the latest effort from the recently launched Division Street, which is an initiative to help student-athletes at Oregon capitalize on self-monetization after the recent policy change surrounding NIL.
“The Oregon brand has always stood for innovation and been immersed in culture, so it was natural for us to create the first unique online platform dedicated to representing and benefitting student-athletes,” said Division Street CEO Rosemary St. Clair.
“We continue to focus on creative and distinct ways for Oregon athletes to monetize their brands, and we think Ducks of a Feather will serve as a long-term platform to do that.”
Perhaps most exciting is that each purchase also comes with a physical, tangible object and owners also get a special edition, hyper-limited Nike Air Max 1 (designed by Hatfield) that has a visual representation of the NFT on the tongue.
Approximately 70% of the revenue from the initial auction will go to participating members of the football team (Jamal Hill, Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe, Mase Funa, Kris Hutson, TJ Bass, Brandon Dorlus) who were asked to help provide content for the platform.
These players were asked to speak about brotherhood and the strength of a team. If you want to learn more about how the NFT works, allow Oregon’s Flowe to explain:
“As a former Oregon student-athlete, I remember clearly the sense of brotherhood that exists within our teams and it was an honor to create a depiction of that brotherhood through the design of Flying Formations,” Hatfield said.
“I have such a passion for the school and the athletes, and it’s a dream to work on something unique like this that directly supports them.”
The initial auction will be held on DucksOfAFeather.xyz at 10 am PST on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Secondary sales can exist on marketplaces like Opensea and 10% of those sales will go back to Oregon’s student-athletes as well.
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