Professional baseball player Matthew Joyce of the Philadelphia Phillies will launch a set of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for fans to purchase through online auction. These digital trading cards commemorate Joyce’s favorite career moments and will be auctioned on the OpenSea marketplace.
“Matt Joyce Opening Day Series NFT Collection” commemorates Matt’s career highlights with five NFT trading cards. These unique pieces of memorabilia are digitally hand-signed and numbered by Joyce. The crown jewel is a rare 1 of 1 Matt Joyce Illustrious Career Highlight Card which includes a meet and greet, personalized and signed jersey, and tickets to an upcoming game.
Joyce’s NFTs cards include the Illustrious Career Highlight (1 of 1 Special Edition), Opening Day (7 of 7 Editions), All Star (77 Editions), Pinch Hit Grand Slam (177 Editions), and Home Run Rob (277 Editions). The 1 of 1 Special Edition will be available for auction on 4/1. The 7 of 7 will be auctioned 3/29 to 3/31. The others will be for sale 3/25 to 3/28.
The popularity of these digital assets that are authenticated by blockchain technology is spreading to equities as investors focus on digital shares. The blockchain provides a certificate of authenticity to prove ownership of a collectible item, much like a traditional baseball card.
“NFTs provide new channels for athletes, artists, musicians, and others to connect with fans through the crypto marketplace,” says Joyce. “When you purchase an NFT, you become part of this ‘special society’, sharing common interests in these technological novelties, just like old school memorabilia.”
Joyce worked with Tampa-based Dream Kollectibles to design the posterized images. They are not licensed by Major League Baseball and do not feature team logos. He joins NFL’s Rob Gronkowski and Patrick Mahomes in this NFT craze but is the first MLB player to offer them.
“Growing up my dad collected baseball cards and sports memorabilia,” says Joyce. “As I grew older we shared stories of his favorite players and bonded over the sport; it’s amazing that I’m now able to put my own personal touch on these NFTs and continue that tradition in the digital space.”