Strategic brand ambassador Antrel Rolle will counsel professional and college athletes on how to integrate NFTs into their personal brand-building strategies using Upstream
By Fernanda De La Torre
This week we announced that Former NFL Defensive Back Antrel Rolle joined Upstream as a strategic brand ambassador.
We’re thrilled to have Antrel Rolle on board to help advise professional and college athletes on how to integrate NFTs into their personal brand-building strategies to raise funds and generate fan engagement through Upstream’s app-based, carbon-neutral NFT market.
Welcome Antrel Rolle
A frontrunner for the Thorpe Award and All-America Honors who is widely considered college football’s top returning defensive back, Rolle brings indispensable insider knowledge from both the athlete and business perspectives to further drive Upstream’s initiatives.
Antrel Rolle, alongside recently added NFL and NBA Hall-of-Famers Edgerrin James and Dominique Wilkins, will support Upstream’s innovative sports vertical which offers athletes a seamless Web 3.0 on-ramp to create and sell digital collectible, fan engagement NFTs to alumni and fans.
“As someone who has been through the athlete journey firsthand, it’s incredible to see platforms like Upstream that has taken steps to both empower and protect these athletes while giving them a unique opportunity to monetize their personal brand at the very start of their careers,” says Antrel Rolle.
The advantages that NFTs provide for Athletes
Athletes are beginning to recognize the benefits of integrating web 3.0 into their personal brand-building strategies. Utilizing Upstream’s NFT methodology, NFTs are being leveraged to increase fan engagement, enhance experiences, and provide new revenue streams that may be used to support athletes’ careers or ventures.
College athletes now have the financial control to capitalize on the NFT market thanks to new NCAA rules which allow athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) through endorsements, sponsorships, and a variety of other business ventures. This helps college athletes, in particular, to acquire financial independence earlier in their careers and to make the most of their social media presence.
NFTs can be used by athletes of all levels to fund and drive exposure to the athlete’s brand, a social impact initiative, and other goals. Additionally, NFTs bring fans closer to their favorite athletes by allowing alumni and fans to collect and trade meaningful digital collectibles from professional and college athletes at important moments in their athletic careers.
What makes Upstream the best medium for athletes to enter the NFT Market
Upstream has created a seamless, user-friendly experience for athletes to enter the NFT space and be able to engage with their fans. Upstream doesn’t require any prior blockchain knowledge. This makes it simple for athletes to create NFTs and simple for fans to claim and purchase NFTs all from a user-friendly app.
Upstream differentiators:
- Upstream is the first regulated securities exchange to offer both NFT and securities trading to protect your brand and your fans in the NFT market.
- Upstream features no upfront costs, no contract or lock-in period for athletes, and no gas fees charged to users which enables athletes to offer thousands or millions of free, low-cost, and premium NFTs.
- Athletes can integrate a royalty to their NFTs and continue to receive royalty payments throughout the NFTs’ lifecycles. Athletes may withdraw profits immediately after sale to fuel their career and enjoy continued fan engagement through trading.
- Upstream is 100% carbon neutral with its own solar “field” for ETH mining used for our Ethereum layer-2 rollups.
- Upstream simplifies the fan user journey on its secure, eco-friendly platform. Fans can claim or purchase NFTs using PayPal, Credit or Debit Card, US dollars, or digital currency in the form of USDC Stablecoin.
Concluding thoughts
We’re excited to have Antrel Rolle join our impressive team of partners and brand ambassadors which features sports, music, and entertainment heavyweights including NFL Hall of Famer Edgerrin James, NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, BRON Studios, and more. Antrel’s role as a brand ambassador will help propel our growth initiatives by advising professional and college athletes on how to enter the NFT market using Upstream. Make sure to follow us to stay tuned with all the new opportunities coming with the support of Antrel Rolle!
Interested athletes can learn more at https://upstream.exchange/ or reach the team at hello@upstream.exchange.
About Upstream:
Upstream, a MERJ Exchange Market, is a fully regulated global stock exchange for digital securities. Powered by Horizon’s proprietary matching engine technology, the exchange will enable investors to trade NFTs, shares in IPOs, crowdfunded companies, U.S. & Int’l. equities, and celebrity ventures directly from the app: https://upstream.exchange. Interested issuers can reach the team at hello@upstream.exchange.
About MERJ:
MERJ Exchange (MERJ) operates Upstream as a fully regulated and licensed integrated securities exchange, clearing system and depository for digital and non-digital securities. MERJ is an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), recognized by HM Revenue and Customs UK, a full member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and a Qualifying Foreign Exchange for OTC Markets in the US. MERJ is also a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative. Visit https://merj.exchange/ to learn more.
About Horizon:
Horizon is a fintech company that builds and powers global securities exchanges with an integrated suite of software for compliant issuance, management, and secondary trading of securities. Our in-house solutions combine Wall Street and Silicon Valley to power the next generation of securities offerings and trading in the U.S. and globally. Learn more at https://www.horizonfintex.com/.
Disclaimers:
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is not permitted.
*NFTs received have no economic value, royalties, equity ownership, or dividends. NFTs are for utility, collection, and display only.
*U.S. investors are not permitted to trade in upstream listed securities. U.S. and Canadian citizens will only be able to trade in a security they currently own that has listed on upstream for liquidation only.
Upstream is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges and full member of ANNA. MERJ supports global issuers of traditional and digital securities through the entire asset life cycle from issuance to trading, clearing, settlement and registry. It operates a fair and transparent marketplace in line with international best practice and principles of operations of financial markets. Upstream does not endorse or recommend any public or private securities bought or sold on its app. Upstream does not offer investment advice or recommendations of any kind. All services offered by Upstream are intended for self-directed clients who make their own investment decisions without aid or assistance from Upstream. All customers are subject to the rules and regulations of their jurisdiction. By accessing the site or app, you agreed to be bound by its terms of use and privacy policy. Company and security listings on Upstream are only suitable for investors who are familiar with and willing to accept the high risk associated with speculative investments, often in early and development stage companies. There can be no assurance the valuation of any particular company’s securities is accurate or in agreement with the market or industry comparative valuations. Investors must be able to afford market volatility and afford the loss of their investment. Companies listed on Upstream are subject to significant ongoing corporate obligations including, but not limited to disclosure, filings and notification.