Getty Image
For as much of a partier as he is, one might forget that Rob Gronkowski is pretty savvy when it comes to business. Remember, this is a guy who retired from the NFL for a season and, during that year away, partnered with a CBD brand to try and take advantage of that growing industry. Well, Gronk’s at it again with another booming industry, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ tight end recently announced that he’s getting into the digital cards game.
Recently joining TMZ Sports, Gronk said that he’s partnered up with Adam Richman and Joe Silberzweig as his business partners on the new venture, as well as artist Black Madre, to create five limited digital trading cards that will be up for auction sometime this week. The entire set is part of the group’s Championship Series NFT Collection.
Given the fact the trading cards industry is exploding as of late — with more and more people picking up the hobby during the pandemic — it’s a pretty wise move for Rob Gronkowski to put his name in the ring and try to make some added cash. That’s part of the reason why Gronk wanted to go digital with his collection, saying he sees the value in NFTs, and believes it’ll continue to be the future for sports collectors.
“I think having digital trading cards now is just gonna be unique and it’s gonna blow it out of the water. Actual trading cards, I think will always be there, but I think it’s leading towards a way where everything’s digital.”
Rob Gronkowski’s digital trading cards will become available on Thursday, March 11 on the crypto marketplace OpenSea.io, with the five rare cards being hand-drawn by Black Madre. Each one celebrates the tight end’s four Super Bowl titles, and only comes in 87 editions (Gronk’s jersey number).
However, the fifth card in the collection is being dubbed as the “Career Highlight Refractor Card”, and is signed by Rob Gronkowski. Any lucky collector who scores that one won’t only get the rarest digital card in the Gronk collection, but will also have the chance to meet the future Hall of Famer in person at a Buccaneers game next NFL season.
With recent sales of rare trading cards setting crazy records — like a Kobe Bryant rookie card selling for $1.8 million and a Mickey Mantle baseball card going for an insane $5.2 million — this type of sports memorabilia has never been more in-demand. And with the introduction of digital platforms like NBA Top Shot and Sorare, the market for physical trading cards has taken a small hit across the entire industry, but it’s still exploding year-over-year. This is all info Rob Gronkowski’s definitely aware of, which is obviously a factor in why he’s going digital with his rare collection.