Tim Tebow-backed Campus Legends is launching the first-ever officially licensed athlete and school NFT marketplace this week with a special “drop” featuring players from the iconic 2008 University of Florida national championship team.

If you dabble in financial and/or crypto news, you’ve likely seen NFTs referenced over the last year. Well, what exactly are they? At the risk of nerding out just a bit, let’s try to explain in relatively easy-to-understand terms. NFT stands for non-fungible token. Without getting into the technical details, the key feature of the NFT is that you can actually own distinct digital assets.

Where previously, it can be difficult to own digital assets since digital assets can be copied or duplicated, NFTs utilize blockchain technology to secure actual ownership of specific, individually-identified digital assets. Many refer to NFTs as modern-day collectibles. For sports fans, you might think of them as modern-day trading cards.

So, what’s this have to do with college football? Over the last year, NFTs have been bought, sold and traded on a number of exchanges and have taken all sorts of shapes and sizes. One of the first big examples in sports was the NBA’s Top Shot product. Officially licensed by the NBA, buyers, sellers and collectors can purchase, own and trade NBA video moments of individual players. Because these “moments” were NFTs, individuals could actually own specific instances of them.

Campus Legends is bringing similar technology and a similar marketplace to college football fans. Fans will be able to create an account with Campus Legends, then buy, sell or just collect officially licensed player and school digital collectibles. The beauty of such a platform is that it brings in a variety of interested parties. When Campus Legends debuts the 2008 Florida Gators national championship group, it’ll attract die-hard Florida fans for obvious reasons. But, college football fans across the country will want to get in on the first officially licensed college sports NFTs as well. And of course, NFT popularity is everywhere these days. As such, some speculators and traders that have no interest in college football are likely to join in the party as well.

Also of note is that Campus Legends actually partners with schools and players. Core to its mission is the goal of supporting athletes and helping them navigate the new NIL world. Own digital collectibles of my favorite team while supporting the actual athletes? That sounds like something a lot of college football fans will get behind.

Which teams and players will be available? On Wednesday, November 10, Campus Legends will roll out the 2008 Florida national championship collection which will include Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes, Ahmad Black, Mike Pouncey, Maurkice Pouncey, Joe Haden, Major Wright, Riley Cooper, Christopher Rainey, Louis Murphy, Ryan Stamper, Brandon James, Deonte Thompson and Tate Casey.

Also because Campus Legends is committed to being a marketplace for all college athletes, they will be releasing additional collectibles featuring other male and female athletes across a variety of sports including baseball, gymnastics and softball.

If you’ve followed NFTs for other sports such as the NBA, you know that scarcity is part of how this works. Different collections will have varying levels of scarcity. The idea is obvious: the more scarce a collectible, typically that means it’s worth more and will trade at higher prices.

Campus Legends will work similarly and will offer three different types of digital collectibles. First, a higher volume series of Collectibles will be released. Then, a Speciality Collectibles series will debut. Finally, likely in early 2022, Campus Legends will roll out a Collections feature which will let users and fans attempt to complete collections and win prizes.

Oh, and not a Florida fan? Don’t worry, more teams and athletes are coming. Be sure to stay tuned to Campus Legends for further announcements.

Welcome to college football fandom in 2021 where you can now own officially licensed digital collectibles for some of your favorite teams and players. As a Florida alum, I’m pretty stoked that my team is getting released first. Perhaps your team is next?

Go get in on the action at campuslegends.com.

Note: Campus Legends is a paid sponsor of Saturday Down South.