Croatian Tennis Player Sells Her Arm On NFT Market
The concept of selling ad space on the human body is not some new idea that just popped up during this stage of the Internet age, but it appears the concept is being updated thanks to a 20-year-old Croatian tennis player. Oleksandra Oliynykova, ranked No. 658 by the WTA and 30th by the ITF, is getting into the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market by selling exclusive ownership of her racket arm for over $5,000. She's turning herself into a body billboard, but you'll have to pay in crypto.
“I will bring your art object or message to every tennis court I play,” Oliynykova explained on her arm NFT listing. “As I am 20 years old only and my sports career is on the rise, I believe it’s be the biggest tennis locations in the world.”
Now for the fine print from Ms. Oliynykova:
• The exact size is 15x8 cm.
• You can place your art object in the form of a tattoo or body art here.
• You can leave it blank - but you will know it’s yours.
• You can resell it for a higher price when I play at Wimbledon or Roland Garros.
• Finally, you can burn it, if you want.
• I will bring your art object or message to every tennis court I play. As I am 20 years old only and my sports career is on the rise, I believe it’s gonna be the biggest tennis locations in the world.
• It is an extremely rare opportunity - as this is the only place on my body I plan to offer as an NFT.
• Also, as far as I know, this is the very first tattoo NFT offered by a professional athlete - so you will become a part of sports history.
...SOME MORE IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Now, if it sounds like absolute insanity for this woman to be willing to get a permanent tattoo of, say, the OutKick logo on her arm, let's go back over a decade ago when I was approached by a guy in Alaska who had all sorts of logos tattooed on his head. He ran a sales pitch on me to where I'd pay like $50 to get my brand logo tatted to his head. In my early Internet days I did some crazy stuff, but I had a quick morality chat with my then-girlfriend, now my wife, about turning the guy into a billboard. It didn't take long to tell the guy no thanks. I'm pretty sure this is the guy and there seems to be a positive outcome to his story all these years later, as he had many of the tattoos removed.
Now we get Oleksandra Oliynykova and a new wave of people who're going to sell ad space on their bodies. Sportico reports Oliynykova sold part of her right arm for $5,000. To put this money in perspective, according to her tennis bio, she has $26,000 in career earnings playing tennis.
If you think the NFT world got weird with a piece of digital art selling for $69 million, just wait until you see what some of these people cook up in their brains.