Autograph, the fan engagement company co-founded by Tom Brady, raised $200 million by 2022 with a vision to sell collectible NFTs. Now the company plans to instead reward fans for actions they already take, such as listening to podcasts and buying tickets.
The newly announced platform—which retains the Autograph name—aggregates publicly available blog posts, news stories, YouTube videos and digital shows in customizable feeds for followers of 240-plus teams, doling out digital coins for users consuming said content. Those hauls can then be traded in to access real-life rewards such as discount tickets and memorabilia or in-person events. Autograph is also building chat-based social features to go with a third-party ticket marketplace. Generative AI is used to summarize the daily coverage collected in the app.
“At Autograph, it’s all about the fans for us,” Brady said in a statement. “We’re pulling together awesome content from top creators all in one place, so we can give fans an amazing experience and really show how much we appreciate everything they do.”
Back during crypto’s pandemic-fueled rise, Brady’s company was one of the buzziest, partnering with ESPN and DraftKings as well as individual stars including Simone Biles, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods. Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, senior Apple executive Eddy Cue and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried were all given board positions. (Costolo and Cue are still listed as board members; SBF, sentenced to 25 years in prison this March for stealing billions from customers, is not.)
In 2022 Autograph inked a deal with the PGA Tour to create a digital collectibles program and launched an NFT-based fan club for Brady during that NFL season, culminating in a member event in Tampa, Fla. But the sports NFT market never rebounded from the tumble it took earlier that year, and the company began repositioning itself.
Autograph reportedly cut more than 50 employees in the first half of 2023. Last fall, the brand launched a beta version of its current platform for Michigan football fans before expanding to serve more than 200 fan bases. The company said “tens of thousands of fans” have spent time on the app during development, reading more than one million articles. Autograph currently employs roughly 40 people, including contractors, with a headquarters in Los Angeles.
“On the financial side, everyone remains interested, excited and invested in the future of the company,” CEO Dillon Rosenblatt said in an interview.
Autograph also made a conscious decision to maintain its brand as it rebuilt its product.
“That brand equity and recognition from working with the Tigers, the AEGs, the Lionsgates, the Simone Biles’s—all these amazing people—has done a lot for us,” Rosenblatt said.
The new platform pulls in publicly available RSS-based posts and lets fans upload additional content. Over time, the company intends to further monetize the ticket, merchandise and other purchases sports consumers make to express their fandom.
“What we’re trying to do is blend content and commerce in a unique way,” Rosenblatt said.
A Duolingo-like streak figure captures how regularly fans use the app. Autograph has also done deals with certain content creators, paying them for marketing support.
“The fandom experience is fundamentally broken and outdated, and our mission is to revolutionize and lead the next generation of fandom,” Autograph COO and CMO Joe Perez said in a statement.
Rosenblatt also isn’t ruling out blockchain technology. Autograph’s fan reward tracker is built on a points system that could conceivably be tied to crypto coins in the future, while badges earned for performing certain actions resemble unique NFTs.
“It’s something we believe in and believe deeply in,” he said. “We’re building all the underlying infrastructure to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.”
