MLB auctioning off Lou Gehrig’s legendary “Luckiest Man” speech as NFT

Major League Baseball is entering the NFT industry and will auction off one of the most famous speeches in the history of American sports.

“Fans, for the past two weeks you’ve been reading about a bad break. Yet today, I consider myself, the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

The prior words spoken by Yankees legend Lou Gehrig in a July 4, 1939 speech following his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis became the most notable line in one of American sports’ most famous speeches.

Thus, as Major League Baseball takes a dip into the NFT game, it’s only fitting it includes Gehrig’s awe-inspiring moment as part of a package that additionally encompasses digital art.

MLB will be partnering with Candy Digital — who handles digital collectibles — to release the NFT and it will go for auction around the Fourth of July (the 82nd anniversary of the famous speech).

“When you think about NFTs, there is this concept of it being a fad,” MLB executive vice president of business development Kenny Gersh told Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. “What we’re looking to do, with the Candy [Digital] people, is to build a long-term sustainable business. What better person to symbolize durability and long-term success than Lou Gehrig?”

MLB’s experience with NFTs won’t halt at the Gehrig speech though — this could turn into something extraordinary.

Candy Digital was co-launched by Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin, who additionally spoke to Davidoff in regard to the matter.

“For me, I’m thinking long term: How do we take a league like Major League Baseball, with its tremendous legacy and history, so much content and [take it into the world of digital assets]?” Rubin said. “We could do NFTs for jerseys, for so much more. We haven’t scratched the surface yet.”

The proceeds received for the NFT sale will be donated to a trio of charities, including the Lou Gehrig Society, the Sean M. Healey and AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the ALS Association.