Washington D.C. sports has two new non-fungible tokens (NFTs) collections to enjoy thanks to Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) 

Monumental Sports and Entertainment, along with the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, have announced a new NFT collection featuring the two teams. The Wizards from the NBA and the Capitals from the NHL become the latest subjects for digital artists to use as inspiration when creating NFT art.

The artists involved with the new collection for these two Washington-based franchises are Lawrence Atoigue and Robert Generette III. Know professionally as Naturel and Rob Zilla III respectively, the pair are Washington locals and will be creating digital art to appeal to the D.C. fanbase. 

According to a statement by the NBA, “This announcement comes ahead of making the NFTs available to the public and to educate and generate excitement for the fans ahead of the expected mid-July drop dates. And in a first-ever move for a professional sports team, the Wizards are creating a special edition NFT within its collection which will be available free of charge for the first 500 fans through a creative marketing effort.”

The NFT collections

The collections are related to each other, but both feature different offerings to those interested buyers. The Capitals’ collection will feature one-of-a-kind or limited edition digital art with two different themes created by Rob Zilla III. The first theme explored is a celebration of the franchise’s 2018 Stanley Cup Championship.

The second is being called “The Screaming Eagle Collection” and is a more general theme based around the team logo introduced in 1995. Each collection contains a single one-of-one NFT along with a limited edition run of another piece ranging from 16 to 95.

The two winners of the one-of-one NFT will not only be awarded digital art, but some VIP perks as well. The winner of the Championship-themed NFT will get a physical championship ring, VIP access to the team’s open practices, autograph, memorabilia from the celebratory parade, and personalized gear.

The Screaming Eagle one-of-a-kind NFT comes with a pair of glass seat tickets to any home game with the option to watch warm-ups, a ride on the Zamboni in-between periods, and a meet and greet with team legends.

The Wizard’s collection, called the “Starting Five Collection”, is a five-part NFT series that highlights the diverse and powerful city that Washington D.C. is. Each of the five-part series represents one of the five starters on a basketball team and falls at different price points. The two most exclusive packages will be sold at auction on the OpenSea marketplace.

The two high-end packages include courtside tickets, a custom portrait by the artist Naturel, game-used gear, and other to-be-announced VIP perks.

Meanwhile, the Wizards will mint 200 NFTs priced at $49.99 each to be sold on a first come, first served basis. The team will also offer 500 free NFTs, labeled as “sixth man” editions, with details to follow on their social media channels.