UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell announced the creation of his own cryptocurrency last week called $TYGER. It’s one way – and a very unique one – that an NCAA athlete can benefit from the new NIL rules that allow student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness.
“I’m looking forward to connecting with my fans/community to offer limited merchandise giveaways, opportunities to challenge me in Super Smash Bros. and chess, as well as get some exclusive access to me and my career,” Campbell said.
The cryptocurrency coin is on the platform Rally, a personal cryptocurrency platform. The coin is not for investment or tradeable stock. It is a community token, according to Ian Brown, CEO and co-founder of ACIB Management Group, which prides itself on being the only NIL management company with a crypto branch and focus.
“We are at the intersection of sports and crypto, and as of right now, we’re the only ones doing it,” Brown said.
UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell is expected to release the creation of his own cryptocurrency called $TYGER this week. Campbell is following the lead of teammate Jaylen Clark, who made his coin $JROCK on the platform Rally. Rally coin is tradeable on Coinbase.
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By holding Campbell’s coin, his Rally profile says you’ll be eligible for exclusive giveaways, such as limited edition merchandise, more $TYGER coin, play chess against Campbell, or compete in one of his video game tournaments.
The coin was selling at $0.295 as of Tuesday afternoon.
Campbell is following the lead of teammate Jaylen Clark, who created his own cryptocurrency roughly a month ago when he created $JROCK.
“After my teammate Jaylen Clark dropped his coin I was immediately interested in what I could do with my own crypto coin,” the 21-year old Campbell said. “This is just the beginning. Throughout the season, fans in my community will see many more opportunities to utilize their coins.”
When Clark created his own coin he was the first NCAA athlete to do so.
“The creation of the coin allows Jaylen and Tyger to run their own economies,” Brown said. “It gives them ultimate access to the communities they’re a part of, and allows their communities to engage with them on a deeper level.”
ACIB’s co-founder and COO is Andre Chevalier Jr., the 25-year-old son of current Sierra Canyon High boys basketball coach Andre Chevalier. UCLA freshman Will McClendon is also a client of ACIB, along with the Sierra Canyon basketball team itself.
“We started working with Sierra Canyon, managing its brand deals and marketing deals,” Chevalier Jr. said. “Working with Sierra Canyon for some time we began to build relationships and network to have a nice contact book when the NIL passed. We foresaw this happening, so we’ve been putting things in place to be successful in the NIL space.”
More collegiate athletes have created their own coin in recent weeks, including future NFL top pick Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon, who starred at Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village. His coin is called $JREAM which coincides with The JREAM Foundation that aims to educate mentor, empower and instill confidence into underprivileged youth.
ACIB doesn’t represent Thibodeaux, but Chevalier Jr. and Brown, 24, have been preparing for this moment, and aren’t surprised more athletes are creating their own cryptocurrency.
“We really brainstormed about what would be the best way to attack the NIL once it was passed,” Brown said. “Crypto just kept coming up. It’s an easy way for people to monetize and take advantage of blockchain technology. This is something we thought about pretty early on.”
Campbell and Clark will take the court for the first time since UCLA’s run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament when the Bruins host Chico State in an exhibition game on Nov. 4 at Pauley Pavilion.
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