From NFL to NFTs, Tim Tebow Gets Into the College Game With Solana-Based Platform

Tim Tebow became a celebrity at the University of Florida when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and won two national championships there. Now the former Denver Broncos quarterback is trying to throw a touchdown pass to college athletes with NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on a platform he founded called CAMPUS.io.

Tebow, who also played for the New York Jets before spending several years in the baseball minor leagues in the New York Mets organization, started CAMPUS as a Solana-backed software company that aims to serve as a marketplace for college sports. The platform has teamed up with Nissan Heisman House for a contest that would give eight winners memorabilia and a virtual meet-and-greet with Tebow and seven other Heisman winners.

CAMPUS also gives college athletes a way to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. Previously, those assets were treated as property of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the schools they played for.

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That changed last year, when the NCAA lost a lawsuit over the issue in the U.S. Supreme Court, paving the way for college athletes pursue endorsements based on their name, image and likeness. Since then, athletes have begun exploring NFT-based deals and even how to get paid in crypto.

“The players come first,” Tebow said Monday on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" program about CAMPUS, adding that athletes would make more with CAMPUS than the colleges, although he declined to give a percentage.

The platform isn't meant just for football players, but also for other athletes such as gymnasts, Tebow explained. “It’s an opportunity for these young athletes to be able to take their brand awareness and use it,” he said.

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