Trending Sport NFTs: A Look at Legendary Colombian Soccer Player James Rodríguez’s 1500 NFTs Launch on ZKSea

Colombian soccer superstar James David Rodríguez Rubio has announced his partnership with ZKSpace to launch the James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFTs, Zurda (left foot in Spanish), with the presale scheduled for June 15th, 2022. The 1,500 unique pieces are currently the only digital art collections available featuring key highlights from his illustrious career spanning three continents and celebrating Rodríguez’s outstanding contribution to the game. Rodríguez is amongst the first of many prominent athletes and celebrities to get involved in the digital art space, and his strategic partnership agreement with ZKSpace, the team behind ZKSea, is a testament to the quality of the layer 2 NFT minting platform and marketplace.

Instead of merely turning a digital photo into NFTs, Zurda NFTs are based on exquisite artwork digitally hand-painted by professional artists. The NFT collection will be made up of 4 different rarities comprising 1 Platinum, 10 Gold, 400 Silver, and 1,089 Bronze, with each piece entitling the owner to a commemorative moment in Rodríguez’s career, and top-ranking pieces to be given signed memorabilia, whitelist spots for future NFTs issued on ZKSea, stake-to-earn bonuses, and even the chance to have a video call with James Rodríguez himself.

James Rodríguez is one of the greatest Colombian attacking midfielders of all time. Having a magical left foot and being able to play anywhere behind the front line, Mr. Rodríguez is regarded as one of the most creative players in the game. His list of honors includes two Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups, and a World Cup Golden Boot.

Among the moments captured for the NFTs are his celebrations playing for the Colombian National Team at the 2014 Fifa World Cup against Uraguay, Greece, Japan, and the Ivory Coast and during the 2016 American Cup. Also featured are some close-up shots of his stylish leg tattoos and of legendary goal celebrations such as when playing for Argentina’s Banfield against Uruguay in 2010, and a successful free-kick for Real Madrid in 2015.

According to the official announcement by ZKSpace, users on the whitelist are able to mint one of the Silver and Bronze James Rodríguez mystery box NFTs from June 15th at a price of 0.12 ETH, 20% lower than that of the public sale. The public sale starts after the presale, and the prices begin at 0.15 ETH for Silver and Bronze, 0.6 ETH for Gold, and 1 ETH for Platinum. The Gold and Platinum NFTs will be sold in the form of an auction.

Regarding the launch of his NFT collection, James Rodríguez said, “I am so blessed to be supported by such a wonderful network of fans, and I hope this will be an opportunity for many of them to be a part of my career in the future. For me, this launch has been a wonderful opportunity to look back at all my past achievements and celebrate this incredible journey that soccer has taken me on. I am truly excited to be able to share this with my fans from all around the world.”

In releasing an NFT collection, James Rodríguez joins a growing number of top athletes and sporting organizations utilizing the emerging technology to better connect with and reward fans. Since market-leader NBA Top Shot began popularizing the digital trading card model, similar variations such as Vayner Sports Pass, Topps, and teams partnering with Chiliz have had great success in building communities around their sport-related digital assets. The James Rodríguez Commemorative Edition NFT collection will be an opportunity for Rodríguez’s nearly 70 million social media followers to get involved and be a part of an amazing fan community.

NFTs are an integral part of the incoming web 3.0 revolution and will serve as virtual identity badges, displaying to the world what an individual likes and cares about. Due to their scarcity, many NFT collections are often also revered as membership passes to exclusive members-only clubs, building a community around common interests and passions. NFTs are also an opportunity for professional sporting stars and KoLs to better connect with their hardcore fans by raising the barrier to entry and creating a place where only the truly dedicated can connect.

Alongside the ZKSwap AMM DEX and ZKSquare, a low-cost Layer 2 payment protocol, ZKSea is part of ZKSpace, a full-featured Layer 2 protocol leveraging ZK-Rollups technology to provide users with an ultra-fast, inexpensive, and secure way to transact on Layer 2. ZKSea is also the first ZK-Rollups-based platform supporting Layer 1 to Layer 2 NFT mutual transferring. Having recently introduced its mobile application on both Android and iOS, ZKSpace is committed to lowering the barrier to entry for new users looking to get involved in the blockchain industry and explore the future of Web 3.0.