Taylor Moreno has always been interested in the emerging world of digital media and currency. The North Carolina and U.S. training team goalie said she has dabbled in research on cryptocurrency and was excited to see the Name, Image and Likeness rules passed to allow her to profit off of her blossoming career.

Starting Friday, she’ll unveil a new project aimed at growing the game of women’s lacrosse and advancing the digital potential of this sport. 

Moreno, through a partnership with the digital media company Postgame, is launching what is believed to be the first Non-Fungible Token is the history of college women’s lacrosse. The NFT features a photo of Moreno with her helmet on, a chrome signature and a golden No. 30 and can be purchased for $25 (or .0059 Etherium). 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Taylor Moreno (@taylor_moreno)

“Once they reached out and presented this to me, I was like, ‘Wait, this is pretty cool.’ I was happy to be involved and pioneer it for our sport,” Moreno said. “Sitting down and thinking about what this could mean not only for myself but other women’s college athletes, especially in lacrosse, it will help them grow and build their brand and grow our sport.” 

Postgame was launched in late 2020 as an outlet for collegiate athletes to potentially build their brands and earn money while doing so. Once the NCAA adopted an interim plan for athletes to earn money through their name, image and likeness, Postgame co-founder Bill Jula had a plan in place. Part of that plan included launching a digital marketplace called NFT Locker. He has helped a number of collegiate athletes launch NFTs and quickly turned his attention to lacrosse.

An idea hatched approximately one month ago by Jula quickly tuned into a chance for history. Moreno, who was curious about NFTs before her contact with Jula, was more than willing to work with Postgame, which represents her and helps run social media campaigns with various athletes and brands across the country. 

“Very early on in this NIL era, [women’s lacrosse] is a targeted market at major brands, with them saying they want to enter this space with these types of athletes,” Jula said. “That told me that female lacrosse, specifically, was something being sought after by major brands. 

“I really like this idea as Postgame being viewed as the place where we’re doing an NFT of everybody — we’re into lacrosse, we’ll do field hockey, swimming and tennis. There’s a lot there to work with when you talk about a lacrosse player like her.” 

Moreno, who has a passion for art, started to become familiar with NFTs — which gained popularity through digital artwork — sooner than many of her teammates and friends. 

“Once people start to wrap their heads around what this is, they’ll want to get more involved,” she said. “With me starting it out, and having supportive family and friends, that will only help grow the opportunity for others down the line.” 

IMPORTANT TERMS

Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger. NFTs can be associated with easily reproducible items such as photos, videos, audio and other types of digital files as unique items and use blockchain technology to give the NFT a public proof of ownership. 

Ethereum: A blockchain platform with its own cryptocurrency, called Ether (ETH) or Ethereum, and its own programming language, called Solidity.