The digital art pieces featuring "The Great One" that were created in a partnership with Upper Deck first hit the market on Tuesday, and another set of even more rare works was released Friday. Buyers who purchase one of the pieces also receive VIP access to future drops and Autograph's community on Discord.
The Gretzky collection is the first of Autograph's NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, to be available to buyers in Canada, which was a big selling point for him.
"I'm thrilled to get into the NFT space with Autograph and expand into Canada, having fans engage with great moments from my hockey career in new, revolutionary ways," Gretzky said in a press release. "I've been committed to sharing and developing the game further for all hockey fans, and I'm proud to work and advise with Autograph, making the space more accessible and streamlined for new and longtime collectors."
Many NFTs are sold through a bidding format, but Autograph's offerings are produced in limited quantities at set prices and are available for purchase on the DraftKings Marketplace. Gretzky's collection so far has featured digital art pieces from $12 to $1500. They are labeled by color and each color represents how rare the piece is. For instance, there were 5000 Carbon Premier pieces for $12 each, 375 Ruby Premier pieces for $100 each, 50 Emerald Signed pieces for $500 each, and 12 Ruby Signed pieces for $1500 each.
And just like conventional art pieces, like paintings, they have the potential to increase in value.
Gretzky is also an advisor to Autograph, along with golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Naomi Osaka, among others.
"As a member of Autograph's Advisory Board, I hope to provide superfans and collectors with the opportunity to own and engage with exciting moments from my hockey career in a new and revolutionary way," Gretzky said via email. "It's the perfect way to involve new and old fans alike who are passionate about hockey and collecting memorabilia."
