Ice Cube’s BIG3 Employs NFTs to Provide Fans With Voting Rights and Ownership Benefits

• BIG3, a pro basketball league, will use NFT collectibles to fractionalize club ownership.
• The league employs the ‘Fireball3’ half-court format.
• Ice Cube’s BIG3 founder stated that the NFTs would “most likely” be created on Ethereum.

BIG3 is a different league than the NBA. It has 3-on-3 games and four-point shots. Some clubs are not located in cities. Ice Cube founded the league in 2017. It is now ready to change franchise ownership using NFTs.

BIG3 announced that it would offer ownership rights in its 12 teams to NFT collectors. This fractionalized ownership on-chain. Each team will have 1,000 NFTs total, divided into two tiers. There will be 25 “Fire”, $25,000 each, and 975 “Gold” (worth $5,000 each) NFTs.

The league currently owns all its teams in full. Ice Cube informed decrypt that although BIG3 had always intended to sell its teams to investors, the advent of blockchain technology and NFTs allowed ownership to be divided among a wider group, not just millionaires.

Jeff Kwatinetz (Ice Cube’s BIG3 founder) stated that the NFTs would “most likely” be created on Ethereum, the dominant smart-contract platform for NFT assets.

BIG3 NFT owners can vote on team matters and get seats to all BIG3 games. They also have access to special VIP experiences and goods such as championship souvenirs for the winning team.

The $25,000 Fire NFT owners enjoy additional benefits such as intellectual property rights and licensing rights to make items. However, league permission is required. The league will receive a portion of all retail sales and a royalty on any BIG3 NFT secondary sales.

The league will make $66 million if all NFTs are sold at the expected rates. This money will be used to grow viewership, add teams in the future, and expand internationally.

“No league offers anything like this,” Ice Cube added. “When you look at what we’re giving, you’re receiving almost everything I receive.” I want people to feel like owners, not like they’re getting hyped-up VIP stuff.”

Ice Cube mentioned that the league airs on CBS in the United States and can be seen in over 40 nations. However, the lifelong musician, who rose to popularity in the 1980s as a member of the rap group N.W.A., also stated that establishing BIG3 is “the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”