Tom Brady, the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, co-founded an NFT agency. He certainly did! It’s called “Autograph,” and you’ll be astonished to learn that it’s quite successful.
On Wednesday, the startup told a website that it had just closed a $170 million Series B investment round with venture capital companies Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins, among others. Both companies have made investments in cryptocurrency-related ventures, with Autograph being the most recent.
So, what is Autograph, exactly? According to the website, Autograph’s purpose is to help those people get involved in NFTs in a more “curated” manner.
Autograph has a long list of athletic collaborators. They’ve collaborated with Tiger Woods, Simone Biles, Derek Jeter, Naomi Osaka, Usain Bolt, Wayne Gretzky, and Tony Hawk, among others. Brady, the company’s co-founder, is on the board of directors, as does Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd.
While Autograph told the website that it began a cooperation with DraftKings this summer, the company is mostly focused on individual athletes. Only a few of their athlete partners play a team sport, yet every single one of them has transcended their sport and entered the greater cultural consciousness.