NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal made headlines earlier this year for getting involved in the non-fungible token space. O’Neal is pushing further into NFTs with the launch of his own PFP series and the acquisition of an ENS domain.
What Happened: Last week, O’Neal launched the SHAQ Gives Back NFT series, a collection of 10,000 NFTs highlighting O’Neal's charity work.
The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation receives 100% of proceeds from the NFT collection. Shaq’s charitable foundation provides toys, clothing and meals for underprivileged youth and also creates pathways for underserved youth. The foundation was established in 2019.
“A charismatic showman both on and off the court, each Shaq Gives Back NFT is a reminder that Shaq can make anything more fun. The variations of each NFT could be as simple as Shaq sporting his team colors from his playing days, as cheeky as Shaq wearing a DJ Diesel shirt or as surreal as Shaq smiling…with no teeth,” the NFT collection site says.
The NFTs that are available on Notable cost 0.05 Ethereum ETH/USD each to mint. The collection has raised over $1 million in proceeds for Shaq’s charity, according to Shaq's Twitter account.
At the time of writing, over 5,000 of the 10,000 NFTs have been sold. Top sales of the Shaq Gives Back NFTs so far are 1.95 ETH, 1 ETH and 0.7 ETH. The floor price for the NFT collection on OpenSea is 0.024 ETH. Trading volume has been over 84 ETH since the project minted.
Related Link: 9 Stocks With Shaquille O'Neal Ties
Why It’s Important: The new NFT collection from O’Neal continues the trend of celebrities launching their own projects. O’Neal is now a collector of NFTs and has his own collection, something a growing number of athletes and celebrities have also accomplished in 2021.
O’Neal bought two Creature World NFTs earlier this year, and also acquired a Mutant Ape Yacht Club for 4.8 ETH three months ago. The Mutant Ape Yacht Club has risen significantly in value, with the collection having a floor price of 11.4 ETH at the time of writing.
O’Neal changed his Twitter Inc TWTR profile name to Shaq.eth, representing an ENS domain that the NBA legend owns.
Anheuser-Busch InBev BUD made a similar move this year with the purchase of a Tom Sachs Rocket Factory NFT and the purchase of beer.eth.
Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian bought a CryptoPunk for his wife Serena Williams and also gifted her with the serenawiliams.eth ENS.
The ENS purchase, NFT launch and purchases could signal O'Neal is in the non-fungible token sector for the long haul.
Related Link: Shaquille O'Neal Is Suing Cannabis Company Over Failed Partnership, Seeks Over $1M In Damages
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