2021’s NFL Draft’s special collaboration included a 1-of-1 item that fetched nearly a quarter of a million.
It’s official: Trevor Lawrence is headed to Jacksonville. As the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the former Clemson Tigers national champion is off to seek his fortune. And to commemorate his leap to the big stage, he teamed up with Topps to release a limited-edition NFT trading card set.
Auctioned off this week on the Mintable App, the six-piece collection included five open edition cards, a 1-of-1 signed superfractor card, and a signed artist proof card.
Just before Roger Goodell called his name and made Lawrence’s NFL dream official, the 1-of-1 card sold on Mintable for $225,000. Zach Burks, CEO and Founder of Mintable, told Boardroom that the entire lot generated total sales of nearly $400,000, with 46 separate bids placed on the 1-of-1.
“We’ve been working with Topps on some other projects, and this was a drop they really wanted to do. Mintable lets them handle shipping info easily, so it was a perfect fit,” Burks said.
The All-American and ACC Player of the Year has already done serious numbers even before receiving that first NFL check. Lawrence already has sponsorship deals in place with Adidas, Bose, Gatorade, Blockfolio, and Fanatics, with many more surely still to come.
Compared to all the rest, however, this Topps collaboration has the special distinction of being a family affair.
The QB worked with his brother and sister-in-law, Chase and Brooke Lawrence, to create many of the artworks in the set. “This collection is meant to showcase Trevor’s natural energy and charisma paired with colorful nostalgia, and retro-psychedelic works of art,” the artists said in an official statement.
With the success of the event on Mintable — which has the distinction of being not just a marketplace, but a platform for users to mint their very own crypto collectibles — don’t be surprised if Lawrence pursues future digital offerings on the app. In the meantime, Burks tells Boardroom that collaborations are in the works involving Hollywood celebrities and, yes, a sports team or two. On Friday, an NFT drop from Japanese fashion brand A Bathing Ape (“BAPE”) went live.
The fans in Jacksonville won’t get a chance to see their new franchise QB take the field in live action until the fall, but it’s more than clear that he’s got the clout and appeal to stay top-of-mind with football fans far beyond simply the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains or sunny northeast Florida.
