Druski, Austin Ekeler, Altered State Machine, and Rachel Lindsay make up the group now in charge of the team formerly known as the Wild Aces.
The Fan Controlled Football League is welcoming a new ownership group for the league’s current champions, the club formerly called the Wild Aces. The group consists of viral Instagram comedian Drew “Druski” Desbordes, LA Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, Altered State Machine, and TV host Rachel Lindsay.
Both Ekeler and Lindsay had already been invested, but ASM and Druski are newcomers.
“I’m pumped to be joining FCF not only as an owner, but of the reigning champion Wild Aces,” Druski said in a statement. “I love everything about this league, and look forward to crushing this with ASM, Austin and Rachel. Hope our fans are ready to call all the shots and keep the FCF title where it belongs. This is going to be fun.”
Druski did not say if he’d be providing comedy, commentary, or skits for the games.
Altered State Machine is a Non-Fungible Intelligence platform used for the creation of unique digital avatars embedded with artificial intelligence and owned as an NFT. ASM offers a decentralized protocol for creating ownership of these A.I.-enabled NFTs, which can be used for a variety of applications, including games, financial services, virtual assistants, and online worlds.
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“We are thrilled to welcome Altered State Machine and Druski to the FCF,” Fan Controlled Football co-founder and CEO Sohrob Farudi said in a release. “Their ownership group is the epitome of what we’re building, pro football built from the ground up to take advantage of the latest technology, while never forgetting that at the heart of the product is the fan entertainment experience. ASM’s A.I. tech, Ekeler’s world class football knowledge, and Druski and Rachel’s comedy and entertainment prowess are coming together to lead the reigning FCF champs into next season and beyond.”
Other owners include (but are not limited to) former NFLers Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, and Dalvin Cook, as well as WNBA retiree Renee Montgomery, YouTube personality Deestroying, and Migos rapper Quavo.
The announcement comes less than 50 days before the season kicks off on April 16. The league also closed a $40 million fundraising round led by Animoca Brands and Delphi Digital.
In addition to the money, the league also added four new teams.
- The Kingpins: The Gutter Cat Gang community team led by NFL legend Jamal Anderson, along with King BlackBored, Dr. Dicatrio, Vivek Ravishanker, and SpottieWiFi.
- The Bored Ape Football Club: The Bored Ape Yacht Club community team with team ownership featuring TropoFarmer, Josh Ong, Jerseyborn, Franklin, Lindsey Byrnes, BenJammin, NFTsAnonymous, Jeff Nicholas, and Spr3adsh33t.
- Knights of Degen Football Club: Led by their founders and community members, which include NFL legends Tiki and Ronde Barber, Jerry Ferrara, Cynthia Frelund from NFL Network, Jasmine Maietta from Round21, Drew Austin, and more.
- 8OKI Football Club: Led by two highly recognized blockchain advocates — famed musician and producer Steve Aoki and 888, legendary collector and founder of 888 Inner Circle and 888 The New World whose mission is to empower artists, creators, and the digital art community.
The new teams came with the release of four separate collections of NFTs that totaled 8,888 digital collectibles. Holders of the NFTs will have governance rights, play-to-earn mechanics, and unique real-world access and VIP Experiences at FCF’s brand new, state-of-the-art venue at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. Fans spent nearly $4 million on the NFTs.
Outside of the NFTs, the FCF’s year two expansion involves growing all facets of the organization. The season will extend from six to nine weeks, players will see an increase in pay, and fans can vote to decide bonuses for players in various categories such as best interview, best touchdown, and best touchdown celebrations.
When the FCF begins play in April, fans will be able to watch on Peacock, NBCLX, NBCUniversal, DAZN and Twitch. If all goes according to plan the FCF will have another season in the Fall and the goal is to test a Fan Controlled Baseball league next year.
