The Chicago Bulls announced today the launch of THE AUROCHS, the first NFT collection from a professional sports team to launch on Coinbase’s new NFT marketplace – Coinbase NFT. The collection will feature 23 minted 1/1 NFTs designed by top web3 artists from around the world, showcasing their individual depictions and reimaginations of the iconic Bulls logo, which hasn’t changed since its creation in 1966. The collection will launch as a 24-hour auction drop exclusively on Coinbase NFT on Thursday, September 22 at 11 a.m. CT. Each 1/1 NFT will have a starting price of .2 ETH and all NFTs will be listed at staggered intervals throughout the day
The collection is an extension of the Bulls’ multiyear partnership with the cryptocurrency company Coinbase, the Official Cryptocurrency Platform & NFT Partner of the Chicago Bulls. THE AUROCHS is an artist-first collaboration and represents the Bulls’ concerted effort to use its platform to amplify the work of diverse local and global artists. Participating artists were asked to reimagine the Bulls iconic logo in their own style and given minimal direction from the Bulls before creating their individual NFTs, resulting in a collection of 23 unique and distinctive interpretations of the Bulls logo – the first and only collection of its kind to exist.
“The Bulls are big believers in the web3 space and have seen how it’s been a gamechanger for artists across the world. We saw this collection as an opportunity to uniquely partner with some of the people who have established their own voices in this space and give them a chance to express what the Bulls brand looks like through their eyes,” said Bulls Executive Director of Content Luka Dukich. “We wanted this collection to be about the artists and we feel this drop is a true partnership between the Bulls, Coinbase and the artists making creative waves in the NFT space.”
In collaboration with all 23 participating artists, 10 percent of the proceeds from each 1/1 NFT will go toward After School Matters – a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides high school students with free after-school and summer programming across the arts, communications, leadership, sports and STEM. The organization was chosen by a vote of all participating artists in the project.
In partnership with Coinbase, the Bulls recruited some of the most successful artists in the web3 space including Deadfellaz, Blake Jamieson, Bobby Hundreds, Claire Salvo, Claire Silver, Efdot, Gxng Yxng of Ghxsts, IMCMPLX, LOGIK, Maliha Abidi, Michael Salisbury, Alexa Meade, Mike Fogg, NoPattern, PROBCAUSE, Sabet, Sean Williams, Shay the Surrealist, Sick Pencil, Sophie Sturdevant, Swopes, Varvara Alay and Zoe Rain.
“The Bulls’ “THE AUROCHS” drop on Coinbase NFT is undoubtedly the making of a blueprint for how to engage with a passionate and evolving fan base,” said Jessica Williams, Head of Brand Partnerships at Coinbase. “The Bulls are laser focused on embracing the future of crypto and Coinbase is inspired by their shared values of repeatable innovation and commitment to their community. Go Bulls!”
The name of the collection was inspired by the wild ancestor of the modern bull, Aurochs, and represents the team’s entry into the NFT space. THE AUROCHS marks the first major NFT collaboration in the team’s partnership with Coinbase. In addition to THE AUROCHS collection, the partnership includes crypto education and fan engagement through in-arena media and giveaways to educate and inspire fans to participate in Web3 and the cryptoeconomy.