South African pace bowler and global cricket icon, Dale Steyn, announced that he is releasing a limited number of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the OpenSea platform. Having announced his retirement from professional cricket last week, the Phalaborwa Express today embraced the digital collectible space with the release of four NFTs, each commemorating a key milestone in his career.
“For the past 16 years, cricket has been my life, my passion, and my love, and looking back they have been 16 years of incredible moments and indelible memories,” Steyn said, speaking from his home in Cape Town, South Africa. “So I thought it would be great to celebrate my retirement, and to honour these memories, by releasing four limited edition NFTs each commemorating a special moment in my career.”
For sports enthusiasts, collectibles and memorabilia have always been highly coveted, and in the Digital Age many sport stars, artists and other celebrities are utilising blockchain technology to create unique collectibles. Blockchain technology enables the creator to digitally mint and sign each token, ensuring its rarity and uniqueness, as well as its authenticity and provenance.
To commemorate his career, Steyn will be releasing four NFTs at 2pm Central Africa Time today (Monday, 6 September 2021) on the OpenSea platform. The four NFTs each represent a key moment in Steyn’s career, memories that were personal to him, and moments that cricket fans across South Africa and the world celebrated with him.
“Three of the NFTs represent a specific milestone in my career,” Steyn continued, “my debut wicket, my 100th wicket, and my record-breaking 422nd wicket. The fourth (and rarest) showcases my entire career.”
Each NFT includes various extras aside from the digital artwork and token – from opportunities to chat with Steyn over Zoom; to actual match balls and memorabilia; to a one-on-one personal net session with Steyn in Cape Town for one lucky NFT holder.
“There will be a limited number of 500 NFTs of my debut wicket, 100 of my 100th wicket, 10 of my 422nd wicket, and just one of my Career Highlight NFTs,’ Steyn explained. “There are a few terms and conditions, but whoever is holding the Career Highlights NFT on 31 July 2022 will be given the opportunity to participate in a net session with me. It will be up to them if they want to bowl at me or have me bowl at them,” Steyn jested.
While the NFTs commemorating Steyn’s Debut and 100th wicket will have a fixed price, the other two – the 422nd Wicket and the coveted Career Highlights NFT – will each be auctioned on the OpenSea platform. The auction goes live on 6 September 2021 at 2pm Central Africa Time, with the 422nd Wicket auction closing at 2pm Central Africa Time on 11 September 2021, and the Career Highlights auction ending on 12 September 2021 at 12pm Central Africa Time.
The four NFTs available are:
– Dale Steyn’s Debut Wicket (Limited to 500 NFTs, each available for the equivalent of $99)
– Dale Steyn’s 100th Wicket (Limited to 100 NFTs each available for the equivalent of $199)
– Dale Steyn’s Record-Setting 422nd Wicket (Limited to 10 NFTs which will be auctioned)
– Dale Steyn’s Career Highlights Card (Limited to 1 NFT which will be auctioned)
More information about each NFT can be found on the website https://dalesteynnft.com/, while the NFTs themselves can be found on the OpenSea NFT platform – https://opensea.io/collection/dale-steyn-nft-collection
