“Like a second grader made it out of play dough” – Fans react to Michael Phelps’ NFT announcement

Swimming legend Michael Phelps decided to ride the NFT wave. The GOAT swimmer joined a long list of athletes as he teased the launch of his own NFT collection on Friday and made the big announcement on social media.

Phelps on Friday took to Twitter and Instagram to announce his NFT. The swimmer, lauded for his prowess in the pool, teased his upcoming exclusive animated NFT collection. The Olympic swimming legend shared pictures of the project and said that the collection would be a commemoration of his 2015 Sports Illustrated cover.

Titled based on the "The Rehabilitation of Michael Phelps' interview, the project seemed like an ambitious project for him.

The 23-time Olympic gold winner highlighted the importance of the SI cover interview, as it was the first time he had opened up about his “challenges with mental health.” Teasing the digital art collection, the star Olympian said that the collection will be out exclusively on @OneOfNft from “Tuesday, December 6th at 3 pm EST!”

---

Fans react to Michael Phelps' NFT

However, the announcement didn’t get the warm welcome Michael Phelps would have hoped for. Fans seemed on edge with the announcement and gave a divided response. Taking to the comments section of the social media post, many fans noted their disappointment.

While a few seemed happy with the exclusive NFT collection’s announcement, many made fun of it. It’s safe to say that they weren’t impressed by it. A few even started cracking jokes about the ’badly rendered' digital art. While some slammed AI for it, a writer even dubbed it as being outright “creepy.”

Here’s how fans reacted to Michael Phelps’ NFT announcement:

Image via Instagram

Some resorted to sarcastic comments. This included a fan who asked if Phelps was the “next Ken” from Barbie’s toy collection. Musician Earnest Keith Smith had an interesting take as he made a sarcastic comment on the bad rendering of the image.

He wrote:

“I thought I was on mushrooms then realized this wasn’t a picture picture.”

Image via Instagram

However, some even commented in support of the work. Fans of Phelps showered the ‘legend’ with love in the comments as well. Podcast host Jeff Gross seemed quite excited as he put down some ‘fire emojis’ in the comments.

Phelps’ NFTs will be rolled out despite criticism from fans. Much like merchandise, digital art collections of athletes are considered valuable collectables by many. Considering Phelps’ large fanbase, the online art will be sold at reasonable prices shortly after its release.

It is also noteworthy that all the with his proceeds from the NFT collection will be going to the Michael Phelps Foundation.

---

Why is the Michael Phelps NFT special?

Michael Phelps’ NFT commemorating his 2015 Sports Illustrated cover is special as it was the first time the swimmer opened up about his challenges with mental health. It was during the interview that Phelps revealed that he suffered from depression and anxiety.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden, Phelps said that he had been in rehab multiple times due to his mental health struggles. The swimmer opened up on the ’dark days' of his life and said that he was working to better himself at the time.

Now, more than half a decade after the interview, Phelps has reformed himself to be a vocal advocate for mental health.