Female sports icons are teaming up with the Parity NFT Marketplace, powered by the Aventus Network, to launch the first non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace solely dedicated to women athletes, according to a press release on Wednesday (Jan. 19).
The Legends Collection NFT will initially roll out with an offering created by renowned artist Borbay that will celebrate track and field legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The next will pay homage to Olympic medalist and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, with the third spotlighting Olympic and professional hockey great Jayna Hefford.
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“The Parity NFT Marketplace will — for the first time in cryptocurrency — put women athletes at the forefront of technology, business and sport, rather than having them as an all-too-common afterthought,” said Minji Ro, co-CEO of Parity.
“The Aventus team understood the ambitious scope of our vision from the outset, and their technical knowledge is unmatched. The Parity Legends Collection is an exciting beginning to our collaboration,” Ro added.
Athletes and artists will receive a combined 90% of net revenue from initial NFT sales from the venture plus royalties from secondary market sales. Earnings continue as athletes grow their accomplishments and fame.
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The NFTs are compatible with the Ethereum network, offering increased speed, lowered cost and boosted environmental efficiency, according to the release.
The Joyner-Kersee’s NFT auction takes place on Sunday (Jan. 23) from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET, followed by Hefford’s and Cooper-Dyke’s in the coming weeks. Auctions on the Parity NFT Marketplace will be in U.S. currency via credit cards. The community also has other NFTs celebrating women athletes.
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Parity aims to drive more revenue to female athletes by using data to match athletes with causes and brands. Parity’s online sponsorship platform was launched by former Wall Street trailblazers to close the gender pay gap in sports.
Aventus Network’s layer-2 blockchain protocol enables any business to build on the Ethereum network while sidestepping limitations on speed and scalability.