McFadyen Digital Launches Varsity Gems NFT Marketplace for NIL Incentive

New platform helps D-I, D-II and D-III athletes benefit from NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules with a centralized marketplace for fans and alumni to support student athletics.


VIENNA, Va., Aug. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  McFadyen Digital, the leading global strategy and implementation agency for e-commerce marketplaces, announces Varsity Gems, the NFT NIL marketplace for Division I, Division II and Division III athletes, will go live on Friday. 

Varsity Gems allows collegiate student athletes to benefit from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules by allowing alumni, boosters, investors, and fans to buy Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) related to student-athletes. Athletes who sell NFTs with Varsity Gems earn 75% of NFT sales from the platform. 

Ferris State University, Wayne State University and Western Michigan University, among many others, all have athletes taking advantage of the NFT platform with dozens more announcements forthcoming.

Thomas Coke, CEO of Varsity Gems, said the participating universities will send high-quality, "Instagram-worthy" images, for what he calls "digital trading cards." Those are then posted on Varsity Gems after the player signs a contract. The NFTs can then be purchased via a crypto wallet or a debit/credit card.

"While Division-I athletes receive most of the spotlight, Varsity Gems' goal is to highlight student athletes in D-II and D-III schools and allow them to earn a piece of the NIL pie," Coke said. "Varsity Gems is a centralized platform that assembles all contracted athletes into one centralized location so fans, boosters and alumni can support their alma mater."

Coke said McFadyen Digital was a prime partner on this project because of its expertise and experience building marketplaces, platforms and digital strategies. 

"The marketplace for digital goods and services has exploded, and McFadyen Digital was excited to lend its expertise to the growing NFT environment," said McFadyen Digital CEO Tom McFadyen. "Incorporating the new NIL incentive into an NFT marketplace, especially one that is centralized with minimal risk, provides great opportunities for student athletes, fans, schools, alumni, conferences, and other parties in the college sports ecosystem."  

A live virtual event launching the Varsity Gems Marketplace is taking place Thursday, Aug. 25. Registration is open to all at no-cost. For more information on Varsity Gems, please visit: https://varsitygems.com

About McFadyen Digital

McFadyen Digital is the leading global agency for e-commerce marketplace strategy and implementation. We create award-winning digital shopping experiences for the world's most prominent brands. Our clients seek to delight their customers with memorable online shopping experiences that scale, and we deliver those results on time and on budget. With over two decades of experience with large enterprise commerce projects, our strategy, technology, design, and ongoing innovation services delivered from our offices in the U.S., Brazil, and India provide scalable and repeatable results.

During 20+ years of global delivery, McFadyen Digital has optimized the quality, cost, and timeframe benefits of on-shore, near-shore, and off-shore team collaboration. We are honored to have enabled digital commerce and marketplaces for 10% of the Fortune 500 and hundreds of mid-market companies. For more information, visit www.mcfadyen.com, connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter.

Media Contact:

Mike Albanese
mike.albanese@newswire.com   

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