Brooklyn Nets star Dinwiddie looks for slam dunk in 'investment token'

The Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie is the team’s second-leading scorer, but the 6-foot, 5-inch guard appears to be the first player to become pro basketball’s version of an IPO.

Starting today Dinwiddie is launching a “tokenized investment vehicle” via his three-year, $34.36 million contract extension with the Nets. Dinwiddie is looking for investors to put in a minimum of $150,000 to purchase “SD8” (his initials and uniform number) coins or tokens of which a maximum of 90 will be available, which would raise more than $13 million for Dinwiddie, according to Forbes, if all tokens were sold.

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After investing, token holders receive monthly payments for the duration of Dinwiddie’s current contract with a 4.95 percent base interest rate.

A company called DREAM Fan Shares is creating the security, which is calling it Professional Athlete Investment Tokens (PAInTs) – that is if the NBA does not intercede. The league and Dinwiddie have been negotiating concessions to his original plan and the NBA could still step in. According to The Athletic, the league is still reviewing Dinwiddie’s revised proposal.

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"At the end of the day, it’s never something that I wanted to go to war with the NBA about," Dinwiddie told reporters in September when this idea became public. "I felt like it was something that, honestly, enhances the NBA experience. Because if fans are more locked into their specific players, it’s only going to boost the league. At the end of the day, fan engagement is at a premium and this is something that enhances everything in our ecosystem."

To encourage investors/fans, Dinwiddie took to Twitter and sweetened the pot by offering to bring eight fans with him to the NBA All-Star Game.

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According to its website, DREAM Fan Shares is “actively working to bring additional athletes, artists, and influencers onto the platform.”

This is not the first attempt to make athletes an investable commodity. In 2013, Fantex launched what it called “athlete tracking stocks” tied to NFL players including Vernon Davis, Mohamed Sanu, Alshon Jeffery and Michael Brockers.

While the San Francisco-based company still issues “dividends,” no one is getting rich. For example, Washington Redskins tight end Davis only played four games this season due to injury and returned a dividend of 18 cents per share.

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