Fans will finally get the chance to decide where a player goes – if they are willing to pay up.
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie started a GoFundMe page Friday with the stated goal of raising 2625.8 bitcoins, which is equivalent to $24,632,600. If that figure is met, Dinwiddie says he will play on a one-year contract on a minimum salary of the team the fans choose. Otherwise, he will donate all the money to charity.
Dinwiddie is under contract next year, but could opt out and become a free agent next summer. It is unclear how fans would determine his next destination.
“Shoe companies and endorsers influence team decisions all the time,” he told The Athletic. “My/our biggest endorsers will always be the fans, so I want to have some fun with this while we’re all under quarantine. I hope no team owners/personnel participate so there’s no impropriety on this one of a kid endorsement deal.”
It would seem this is mostly in jest. Dinwiddie is active on social media platforms and has looked to get fans involved before. In the fall, he wanted to monetize his current three-year, $35 million contract by allowing fans to buy bonds in his future earnings. The league said he wasn’t allowed to do so, and is currently reviewing the tokenizing of Dinwiddie’s contract. It’s unclear if this new idea would violate the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the player’s union.
Dinwiddie, who was a second-round pick of the Pistons out of Colorado in 2014, is an NBA success story. The 27-year-old is a G League product who has blossomed with the Nets. Dinwiddie was averaging career-highs of 20.6 points and 6.8 assists when the season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Saturday afternoon, the campaign had raised a little more than $800.
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