Joining forces with Nike back in 1981, Tinker Hatfield was able to take his background in architecture and become one of the most legendary sneaker designers. The two had a special connection to the University of Oregon with the founders of Nike and Tinker himself being part of the athletic program albeit in different decades. With his storied past behind him, Tinker has entered the NFT space with an upcoming collection utilizing the NIL, giving proceeds from the upcoming auction to student athletes at his former university.
The entire NFT collection will launch with 120 unique profile pictures all designed by Tinker with inspiration coming from his days as a student athlete. While we haven’t seen the full collection, we do know that each NFT will come with a Nike Air Max 1 “University of Oregon” on February 20th. What makes this special is the fact that Tinker designed the original Air Max 35 years ago, stating “…there’s a big story behind the innovation of it [Air Max 1] as the first shoe with visible Air — which ties into the innovative spirit of the university…”
With the NCAA allowing athletes to earn money as a collegiate player, the organization Division Street is helping University of Oregon student athletes utilize this to their full potential. Every sale from this project will directly benefit the UO athletes by sharing 2/3 of the revenue equally amongst the students. Sales will take place using a Dutch Auction style, decreasing the price as time goes on until it sells out. Not only will the initial sale benefit the students, but every after market sale will grant 10% royalties that will be split among the student athletes.
The Flying Formations NFT project is set to be revealed and go on sale via auction on February 20th at 10 AM PST. Utilizing the Dutch Auction pricing system, the starting price will begin at 12.5 ETH and work down to 1.0 ETH 12 hours later if the collection isn’t sold out. For more information on this collection and it’s launch, head over to ducksofafeather.xyz and join their Discord. For future updates on everything regarding NFTs, sneakers and streetwear, keep it locked to our Twitter and Mobile App to stay up to date on future releases.
UPDATE 02/18/22: A first look at the Tinker Hatfield x Nike Air Max 1 Oregon Ducks can be seen below.
Images via Complex
Images via Nike
