Patrick Mahomes Can't Quit Crypto

Patrick Mahomes likes doubling down. In February, the 27-year-old Kansas City Chiefs quarterback famously pushed through an ankle injury and a sizable halftime deficit to clinch his second Super Bowl victory in six seasons. Despite his immense potential value as a free agent, Mahomes has pledged himself to the Chiefs for the next decade; his current $503 million contract is the biggest in NFL history.

And with crypto, too, the two-time Super Bowl MVP appears to embrace commitment: Whereas other sports superstars have shied away from associating with the increasingly PR-toxic sector, Mahomes is finding new ways to dive further in. 

Mahomes announced a collaboration with Azuki this week, and in the words of one NFT holder, he has been “Azuki-fied”—meaning his likeness has been converted into a limited edition trading card from the anime-styled NFT brand.

The one-of-one card will feature in a series of NFTs issued by Azuki in collaboration with Museum of Mahomes, a new NFT platform from the star quarterback that is purportedly set to release a whopping 15,000 NFTs next month.

The partnership between Mahomes and Azuki comes at a curious time for both parties. Mahomes is riding the crest of a near-unprecedented wave of mainstream success and adoration; Azuki, meanwhile, is attempting to move past a disastrous summer that saw the brand’s credibility within the crypto community threatened by a series of unforced errors. In the last two months alone, Azuki’s floor price has plummeted over 79%, per CoinGecko.

 NFT Revolution

Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes Launching New NFT Collection

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has already won a pair of Super Bowl championships (and MVP awards) during his six NFL seasons, plus he was one of the first athletes to make a big NFT splash back in 2021. Now he’s diving back in with his Museum of Mahomes NFT brand, with plans for a new drop. Set to debut new collectibles in September, Museum of Mahomes will serve up NFTs inspired by the Chiefs star, some of which will be tied to real-world perks like physical trading cards, autog...

And yet, Mahomes is here for the ride. This isn’t the superstar athlete’s first crypto rodeo: the quarterback netted $3.7 million at the height of the early 2021 NFT craze with his own series of digital collectibles.

He previously endorsed crypto projects like VirtualStax, an NFT trading card brand that allegedly claimed it would generate $97 billion in revenue within three years despite having never released any products; the company has since been accused of fraud and misleading investors.

In the wake of the highly visible and spectacularly bizarre collapse of FTX last November, a slew of lawsuits have targeted celebrities and professional athletes who promoted the crypto exchange and other allegedly fraudulent crypto firms.

Stars including Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Shaq, and Larry David are currently ensnared in litigation they can’t seem to shake; suffice to say, mega-celebrities have all but abandoned projects that prominently feature crypto or crypto-affiliated elements.

Shaq Finally Served in FTX Lawsuit After Months of ‘Running’, Say Lawyers

Shaquille O’Neal has finally been served papers in a lawsuit over his role in promoting FTX after lawyers accused the former basketball star of hiding from them. Alongside fellow high-profile endorsers such as Tom Brady and Larry David, O’Neal was named as a defendant in the suit filed last November in a Florida federal district court. It alleges that the celebrities “actively participated” in FTX’s offer and sale of unregistered securities. UPDATE: Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action...

But not Mahomes. Despite the potential risks to his mammoth reserves of social and financial capital, the star athlete is plunging ever-further into the on-chain depths. Say what you will about the advisability of such a move—but you can’t deny the man’s grindset.