Yankees Icon Lou Gehrig's 'Luckiest Man' Speech to Be Auctioned off as NFT by MLB

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it is entering the NFT market with the auctioning of a 1-of-1 NFT featuring New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.

According to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, MLB Executive Vice President of Business Development Kenny Gersh said: "When you think about NFTs, there is this concept of it being a fad. What we're looking to do, with the Candy [Digital] people, is to build a long-term sustainable business. What better person to symbolize durability and long-term success than Lou Gehrig?"

Specifically, the NFT will focus on Gehrig's famous "Luckiest Man" speech, which he gave at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, shortly after his ALS diagnosis.

Per Davidoff, MLB is planning to hold the auction for the Gehrig NFT around July 4, the 82nd anniversary of the Iron Horse's speech.

Davidoff noted that MLB is working with Candy Digital on the Gehrig NFT release. Candy Digital is a new digital collectible company that features executive chairman of Fanatics Michael Rubin as one of its heads.

Rubin said: "For me, I'm thinking long term: How do we take a league like Major League Baseball, with its tremendous legacy and history, so much content and [take it into the world of digital assets]? We could do NFTs for jerseys, for so much more. We haven't scratched the surface yet."

Given that the Gehrig NFT marks the start of MLB's entry into the market and that it is a 1-of-1, it figures to go for huge money at auction.

The winning bid on the will go entirely to charity with the Healey Center for ALS, the ALS Association and the Lou Gehrig Society all receiving some of it.

Even 80 years after his untimely death at the age of 37 in 1941, Gehrig is still considered one of the greatest players in baseball history.

During his 17-year MLB career, all of which was spent with the Yanks, Gehrig was a six-time World Series champion and two-time American League MVP. He also held the record of 2,130 consecutive games played before it was broken by Cal Ripken Jr.

Gehrig was a .340 hitter during his illustrious career with 493 home runs, 1,995 RBI, 1,888 runs scored and 2,721 hits.