Gatorade announces it will be making its first foray into Web3 and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) by expanding the impact of its Gatorade Player of the Year program and amplifying the Athlete of the Year ceremony taking place on July 19, 2022.
This program came to fruition in collaboration with Vayner3, consultancy under the umbrella of VaynerX exclusively focused on guiding the world’s leading enterprises and intellectual property owners in the next iteration of consumer behavior and navigating the ground-breaking and ever-evolving world of Web3.
The collection will be available as an open edition mint for three days through OneOf.com/Gatorade. The primary and secondary will be donated to charity through Good Sports, a nonprofit that drives equitable access to youth sports and physical activity. In addition, each of the 12 nominees will receive a personalized NFT airdropped into their wallets.
The Gatorade PoY Game Changers collection will consist of the 12 National 2021-2022 Gatorade Players of the Year. Each of these athletes has overcome immense obstacles and adversity to become pillars in their community and achieved tremendous success on the field and in the classroom. From this group of 12, two will be named the Gatorade Male and Female Athlete of the Year!
The 12 Gatorade Players of the Year are:
• Volleyball: Averi Carlson
• Football: Nick Singleton
• Boys Cross Country: Colin Sahlman
• Girls Cross Country: Natalie Cook
• Girls Basketball: Kiki Rice
• Boys Basketball: Gradey Dick
• Softball: Keagan Rothrock
• Baseball: Brock Porter
• Girls Soccer: Riley Jackson
• Boys Soccer: Jacob Murrell
• Girls Track & Field: Juliette Whittaker
• Boys Track & Field: Cade Flatt
All primary sales and 8% of secondary sales (less certain expenses) from the Gatorade Game Changers NFT collection will be going to Good Sports*, a charity dedicated to driving equitable access in youth sports and physical activity, by supporting children in high-need communities to achieve their greatest potential, on the field and in life. Gatorade is beyond excited for this ongoing partnership and the opportunity for the Game Changers NFT collection to directly support youth in need in their pursuit of sports. Click Here to learn more about Good Sports.
The Gatorade Game Changers: Athlete of the Year NFT program is only a first step to leveraging the NFT technology.
- The NFT program has two pillars:
- Gatorade Athlete of the Year NFT Pack: The first is an open edition mint of the NFT collection running for three days on OneOf.com around the AOY & ESPYS events, where the initial NFT card sales will be released as bundle packs of 3 NFTs randomly selected from the national POY athletes. The primary and secondary sales will be donated to charity to Good Sports.
- Giving back to Athletes: Each Gatorade National Player of the Year will have NFTs airdropped to their personal wallet:
- 10 “Athlete Original” custom edition of their personal card
- “Athlete Original” will be designated with a distinct border or sticker marking it as a 1-of-1
Gatorade has a long-standing history of serving athlete communities and understands how sports instill valuable lifelong skills on and off the field. Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
Each year, a selection committee evaluates the nation’s top talent to choose one state winner from each of the 50 states as well as Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In all, 608 athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports.
The Gatorade Player of the Year award is the most prestigious award in high school sports because it recognizes the nation’s most elite high school athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field. Gatorade State & National Player of the Year award winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of Athletic Excellence, Academic Achievement and Exemplary Character. Previous winners include a distinguished list of athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Abby Wambach, Jayson Tatum, Elena Delle Donne and many other sports icons.
ABOUT VAYNER3
Vayner3 is a consultancy under the umbrella of VaynerX exclusively focused on guiding the world’s leading enterprises and intellectual property owners in the next iteration of consumer behavior, and navigating the ground-breaking and ever-evolving world of Web3.