Shareef O’Neal, son of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has signed a long-term deal with NFT Genius to launch a new line of NFTs.
Shareef, a junior at Louisiana State University, is the latest athlete to profit from the NCAA’s new NIL (name, image, likeness) regulation, which took effect on July 1 and permits college players to profit from their images and reputations.
NFT Genius is a cryptocurrency start-up backed by the Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban; actor, Ashton Kutcher, and other investors.
BALLERZ, a collection of 10,000 basketball-themed NFTs launched by NFT Genius in November, sold out in under three hours.
Shareef O’Neal’s launch NFT will not just tell his story, but also the story of the O’Neal family, their common passion for sports, family, and pushing people to live their best lives.
The first of many from Shareef’s family, which includes his mother and “momager,” Shaunie O’Neal, will debut on Monday, December 13 at ongaia.com.
“I see NFTs as an innovative medium to bring fans along my life’s journey to join me and my family through our own successes and struggles and bring awareness to causes that are important to me.
“We want to reward everyone who secures my first NFTs that will reflect those things I am most passionate about — basketball, music, and giving back.
“We have a lot of surprises in store, including winning signed memorabilia, free airdrops, and access to some cool experiences with me and my family,” O’Neal said.
Jeremy Born, NFT Genius CEO, said, “It’s a tremendous opportunity to be working with Shareef and the O’Neal family.
Their stature among the worlds of basketball, Gen Z, and pop culture will allow us to truly unlock the storytelling power of NFTs, as we bring their fans even closer to the family.”
Ownership of NFTs from O’Neal’s collection will come with benefits like airdropped multimedia content, priority access to future drops from the family, and the opportunity to win autographed items and guest tickets to O’Neal events.
The inaugural NFTs, which will be published on Monday, December 13, will include original beats written by Shareef O’Neal.
