Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have become the hottest thing on the internet lately, and Los Angeles Rams safety Taylor Rapp is getting in on the fun. Only, he’s launching a collection of NFTs for a good cause, not to make a quick buck.
Rapp told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that he’s launching six NFT collections to help fight anti-Asian hate by donating “a large chunk” of the proceeds to the #StopAsianHate GoFundMe campaign, which has raised nearly $5 million to date.
Rapp’s NFTs will go live on Thursday and will feature 90 different digital pieces across six collections, which celebrate his Asian heritage. The set is called Taylor Rapp-Year of the Ox NFT Collection.
Excited to be able to launch my very own exclusive Taylor Rapp-Year of the Ox NFT Collection this Thursday to help my AAPI Community fight #AntiAsianHate https://t.co/2q6YLdp59b
— Taylor Rapp (@trapp07) March 31, 2021
Since being a second-round pick by the Rams in 2019, Rapp has been active in the Asian-American community and has tried to blaze a trail for younger Chinese-American athletes like himself to make it in the NFL. This is his latest effort to support the community, raising money to combat the recent violence against it.
“I am Asian American, and this community means a lot to me,” Rapp told CNBC. “I wanted to help my people, and what better way to raise money right now to donate than through creating an NFT collection and using my platform.
“I felt like it was a responsibility for me to go out there and do what I can using my platform and my name to try to help out my community and bring more awareness to what is going on right now.”
If you haven’t become aware of the NFT craze recently, collections are being launched by athletes, celebrities and artists everywhere. Essentially, NFTs are digital pieces of art and function similar to virtual trading cards. NBA’s TopShot has become a wildly popular platform, with fans buying and selling highlights of NBA players. Some are worth a few bucks, while others sell for several thousands.
Rapp joins Patrick Mahomes and Rob Gronkowski as NFL players who have launched their own NFT collections, and they certainly won’t be the last to do so.
“I believe the NFTs are here to stay, and they will eventually take over sports trading cards,” Rapp said. “I wouldn’t be surprised in the next three to four years if every player had their own NFT collection.”
Rapp’s collection will be released Thursday on OpenSea, if you’re interested in buying one of his pieces for a good cause.