Neil Leifer, one of the most iconic Sports Illustrated photographers in the publication's history, is releasing his work as an NFT collection through Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX).
Leifer began working as a teenager, and his career took off in 1958, when he photographed Colts running back Alan Ameche scoring the game-winning touchdown in that year's NFL Championship, known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
From there, his photographs were used on over 170 Sports Illustrated covers. On Tuesday, WAX launched the first Leifer collection, "Decades: The Sixties (Part 1)," with 1,248 packs retailing at $99.99.
“When I started my career in the 1950s, I could have never imagined that one day my photos would end up digitized as NFTs,” Leifer said in a WAX release. “It is an honor to have this opportunity to share my art in a new way.”
During his career, Leifer photographed 15 Olympic Games, 13 Super Bowls, four World Cups and earned particular notoriety for his shots of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. He was behind the camera for the iconic photo of Ali posing over Sonny Liston after defeating him in their famous 1964 fight. In 2014, he became the first photographer inaugurated into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
He has also photographed non-sporting events including royal weddings and presidential inaugurations.
Editor's Note: SI's parent company, Authentic Brands Group, owns and manages the rights to the entire Neil Leifer photography collection.
